Bitcoin ETF ends seven consecutive days of gains, Bitcoin price pressure re-emerges.

The U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF transitioned from net inflows to outflows after seven consecutive trading days of inflows, losing $163.5 million on the 18th and a further $51.9 million on the 19th. Meanwhile, Bitcoin retreated from its weekly high, briefly dipping below $70,000, indicating a simultaneous weakening in both the capital flow and price aspects.

This week marked a clear turning point for Bitcoin ETFs. After accumulating approximately $1.162 billion over seven consecutive trading days from March 9 to March 17, the capital momentum reversed starting on the 18th, with a net outflow of $163.5 million on that day, followed by another outflow of $51.9 million on the 19th, ending the previous streak of seven consecutive days of gains. The market had initially hoped that ETF buying would continue, providing support for Bitcoin to hold above $70,000, but with the Fed’s hawkish signals, rising oil prices, and increasing geopolitical risks, the capital flow clearly shifted towards a more conservative stance.

According to data, the Bitcoin ETF recorded net inflows of $199.4 million on the 16th and 17th, continuing the fundraising trend from the previous week, but reversed to net outflows on the 18th and 19th. Based on the currently available data for this week, there was still a net inflow of $183.4 million over the four trading days from March 16 to 19, but the trend has shifted from “steady inflow” to “later stage slowdown.”

From a product perspective, the weakening pressure mainly came from the leading products giving back gains. On March 18, BlackRock’s IBIT saw an outflow of $33.9 million, Fidelity’s FBTC had an outflow of $103.8 million, and Grayscale’s GBTC also saw an outflow of $18.8 million; on March 19, FBTC recorded an additional outflow of $26 million, while BITB, ARKB, and GBTC also saw outflows. This indicates that this round of adjustment is not just a temporary fluctuation of a single product, but a broader cooling of institutional risk appetite.

Bitcoin: After falling below $70,000, it still hasn’t truly stabilized. According to Binance data, at the time of writing, Bitcoin was priced at approximately $70,756.93, with a low of $68,805.52 and a high of $71,227.75 within the past 24 hours, showing a decline of about 0.75% over the last 24 hours and a small decrease of 0.8% over the past week. Although there hasn’t been a panic sell-off like in early February, the $70,000 level has once again been tested by the market, and the lows have clearly fallen below this integer support.

This point is crucial. The role of ETFs typically does not directly determine price direction but rather reinforces existing trends: when prices rise, ETF inflows amplify market optimism; when prices weaken, ETF outflows exacerbate the market’s interpretation of “slowing institutional buying.” This week, Bitcoin’s price is particularly noteworthy because it had just rebounded to around $74,000 and has now fallen back to the $70,000 edge, effectively signaling to the market that although this round of rebound was fueled by capital, the foundation remains insufficiently solid.

Because ETF capital flows are ultimately lagging signals, prices represent the market’s most immediate reaction to the overall environment. This week, Bitcoin’s retreat from its high is not solely due to ETF outflows; more importantly, the macro environment has quickly deteriorated. The market is re-digesting expectations of “higher for longer” interest rates following the Fed meeting, combined with rising oil prices due to escalating tensions in the Middle East, leading to a noticeable contraction in investor preference for risk assets. Traders have pushed back their expectations for U.S. interest rate cuts to around mid-2027, which undoubtedly creates pressure on cryptocurrency assets that are heavily reliant on liquidity and risk appetite.

Although the seven consecutive days of inflows created an optimistic atmosphere of “institutional funds returning,” what truly influenced this week’s prices were macro variables rather than mere capital flows. When the Fed’s stance is hawkish, energy prices soar, and geopolitical risks rise, even if there is still some ETF buying support for Bitcoin, it is difficult to fully escape the common pricing framework of global risk assets. This also explains why there were inflows in the first half of the week for ETFs, but Bitcoin’s price failed to effectively stabilize at higher levels.

From this week’s market, $70,000 has become a short-term dividing line between bulls and bears. From both technical and emotional perspectives, the importance of $70,000 has been amplified again. This is not only a psychological round number but also a market confidence indicator of whether this round of rebound can continue. According to Binance data, Bitcoin has risen approximately 4.63% over the past 30 days, but has fallen 23.64% over the past 60 days, and the decline over the past 90 days has reached 19.75%, indicating that the medium-term structure has not been fully restored. In other words, this week’s price drop is not an isolated phenomenon but rather resembles a blockage after a rebound within a broader medium-term weakness.