US spot Bitcoin ETFs extended their inflow streak to five consecutive sessions from August 3-7, attracting $853.5 million in total net inflows according to CoinGlass data. The streak represents the strongest weekly performance since mid-April, with BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) dominating the inflows by accounting for $693.5 million or roughly 81% of the category's total inflows. Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) followed with $116.5 million, while Bitwise's BITB and ARK 21Shares' ARKB contributed $2.11 million and $1.94 million respectively. Total spot Bitcoin ETF net assets reached $79.50 billion by August 7, representing approximately 6.10% of Bitcoin's market capitalization. This surge in inflows offers a tentative sign that institutions are dipping back in after the heavy selling earlier this year, with Bitcoin holding steady at around $64,000 early this week and trading at around $65,100 as of recent reports. The streak followed a volatile end to July, when investors withdrew approximately $265 million from the funds on July 31, including $123 million from IBIT and $54.8 million from FBTC.
The Coldcard hardware-wallet exploit continues to drive institutional demand for Bitcoin ETFs as investors reconsider crypto custody strategies. According to Bloomberg Intelligence, the hack could encourage greater migration toward Bitcoin ETFs as investors reconsider institutional custody, with reliance on traditional custodians "all the sudden seem[ing] like a feature." As reported by FRNT Financial, while many Bitcoin holders prefer self-custody, they still place trust in the hardware and software used to generate private keys, creating a key tradeoff that the exploit has exposed. The breach may reinforce the appeal of publicly traded crypto firms linked to institutional adoption, with Cantor expecting token flows to custodians and exchanges to increase following the hack. Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, noted that what was once considered a "bug" by some crypto users may "all the sudden seem like a feature" as investors compare institutional custodians with smaller crypto companies.
Galaxy Research, the research arm of crypto investment company Galaxy Digital, has emerged as one of the most prominent sources tracking the Coldcard incident. Alex Thorn, Galaxy Digital's head of firmwide research, and his team have regularly published estimates on affected addresses and potential losses linked to the incident. The exploit, tied to a firmware bug dating to March 2021, has drained more than $130 million from owners of the affected hardware wallets, which generated recovery seeds with roughly 40 bits of entropy instead of 128. That flaw leaves long-term holders exposed to brute-force sweeps of their seeds. According to Galaxy Research, the attack affected as many as 7,300 addresses, with about $130 million in suspected Bitcoin losses, while a fourth wave of drains moved 388.9 BTC, worth roughly $29 million, on a single Sunday evening. A tripwire control wallet built by developer James O'Beirne, with no added entropy, was swept within an hour of going live. Including a suspected fourth wave, total losses could reach 2,055 Bitcoin, highlighting the risks even self-custodied assets face when wallet security is compromised.
The Coldcard crisis has triggered unprecedented network activity as affected users rush to secure their funds. According to Santiment data, 712,000 active Bitcoin addresses were recorded over the past seven days, the highest level in three months. Transactions worth more than $100,000 reached 61,800 during the same period, marking a five-month high. CryptoQuant reported that transactions valued below $100,000 reached $3.2 billion, their highest level since November 2024. The network congestion was severe, with transactions waiting in Bitcoin's mempool increasing from about 33,000 to roughly 96,000, the highest level since June 20. CryptoQuant noted that the Coldcard crisis was the main catalyst behind these increases as affected users moved coins into newly generated wallets, consolidated balances, or transferred funds to custodial platforms. Meanwhile, spending by long-term holders outside exchanges rose to 406,000 BTC on a 30-day basis as of August 3, up from 269,000 BTC before the exploit and the highest level since January.
Ethereum ETFs also recorded strong performance during the week, attracting approximately $244.94 million from August 3-7 according to crypto.news. The products began with an $11.42 million outflow before adding $53.75 million on August 4 and $60.86 million on August 5. Daily inflows then increased to $92.15 million on August 6 before easing to $49.60 million on August 7. BlackRock's ETHA drove much of the demand, collecting $50.34 million on August 5, $81.14 million on August 6 and $38.15 million on August 7. Total Ethereum ETF net assets reached approximately $10.74 billion, representing 4.65% of Ether's market capitalization. Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs therefore attracted nearly $1.10 billion combined during the week, with August's $853.5 million inflow total already nearly five times the approximately $172.4 million attracted during all of July. As of today, ETH USD is trading for $1,920, up 0.8% over the past 24 hours, approaching the $2,000 psychological level.
Other altcoin ETFs demonstrated varied performance during the week, with XRP ETFs seeing $1.01 million in inflows and Hyperliquid's HYPE ETFs attracting $2.84 million. Meanwhile, Solana's SOL ETF recorded weekly inflows of $144.93K, while Dogecoin's DOGE ETF, which had been experiencing zero flows for some time, received $82.64K in inflows. This represents a significant shift from July, when Spot BTC ETFs underperformed compared to other altcoin ETFs that saw more days of inflow streaks. According to XWIN Japan and DeFi Asset Management, these inflows may represent selective institutional or traditional-finance allocation through regulated products rather than widespread speculative buying, as the Coinbase Premium remains low and spot demand has not recovered well. The figures showed that regulated crypto investment demand during the opening week of August was concentrated in Bitcoin and Ethereum products, with smaller crypto ETF categories showing limited demand.
