US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs achieved their strongest weekly performance since mid-April, pulling in $853.54 million in net inflows during the week ended August 7, according to CoinGlass data. However, the momentum has now reversed sharply, with Bitcoin ETFs recording over $140 million in net outflows on August 13, marking the largest daily outflow of August so far. BlackRock's IBIT alone accounted for approximately $693 million of the previous week's total inflows, representing around 81% of every dollar that entered the category. This concentration risk raises questions about whether the rebound represents broad institutional re-engagement or one fund doing most of the heavy lifting, as institutional demand now appears to be losing steam.
Veteran trader Peter Brandt has expressed bearish sentiment on Bitcoin, pointing to a completed head and shoulders breakdown structure that broke down earlier this summer. According to reports from crypto.news, Brandt stated he would currently bet on another decline, though he has not entered a trade position. The technical analysis shows a head and shoulders structure built between April and June, with the neckline around $75,000 having already broken down. Brandt's drawn path points toward approximately $58,000 if Bitcoin fails to reclaim resistance soon. A head-and-shoulders pattern is a technical chart formation that signals a potential trend reversal, consisting of three peaks with the middle one being the highest and the two outer ones being lower and roughly equal. A break below the 'neckline' confirms the pattern, and the $58,000 level has historically acted as a support zone where buying interest has emerged in the past.
Two key events coincided with the recent Bitcoin rebound, creating a perfect storm for ETF demand. The Coldcard exploit began on July 30 when attackers drained self-custody wallets with weakly generated seed phrases, with TRM Labs reporting over $116 million stolen from more than 5,200 addresses, while Galaxy Research estimates the total could reach $130 million. This marks one of the largest crypto thefts of 2026. Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg Intelligence suggested that ETFs could be a solution, as ETF holders do not manage seed phrases directly, negating that risk entirely. Supporting this view, long-term holders moved around 210,000 BTC following the exploit, with more coins being transferred to exchanges than leaving them, representing a reversal from a two-year trend.
Despite the bearish technical setup, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded more than $850 million in net inflows across five sessions. According to crypto.news, Farside Investors recorded daily net inflows of $170.1 million, $211.5 million, $244.4 million, $137.6 million and $101.7 million from August 3 through August 7. However, the momentum has now reversed, with the latest outflows suggesting that institutional demand could be losing steam. This institutional demand provides a bullish counterweight to the technical weakness, with the market caught between improving institutional demand and the technical structure that has not yet cleared resistance around $67,260. A drop to $58,000 would represent a significant decline from current levels, potentially shaking out leveraged positions and testing the conviction of long-term holders.
August saw a significant turnaround with five consecutive positive sessions totaling $1.03 billion from August 3 to 7, with the strongest inflow of $244.4 million on August 5. However, the latest outflows suggest this momentum may be weakening. Bitcoin price responded positively, pushing through $65,000 to touch $65,340 to start the week and finishing up roughly 3%, even though four of the five ETF inflow days occurred before the rally began. Despite Bitcoin's resilience on price charts, with the cryptocurrency up over 10% and showing its highest wick stretching all the way up to $66k, nearly 90% of these gains came in July, clearly showing that August momentum has been much weaker so far. The current setup points to a potential repeat of the March and April style pullback, with Bitcoin ETF flows serving as an early warning sign that Bitcoin may see another May and June style breakdown in August.
