Bitcoin Retreats a Day After Breaching $80,000; Nine-Day ETF Inflow Streak Snaps

Bitcoin breached $80,000 for the first time in roughly three months but couldn't hold the level for even a day, sliding back into the $77,000 range. The U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) flows that had powered the rally also flipped to net outflows after nine consecutive sessions of inflows.

As of 1:30 p.m. on August 31, Bitcoin had fallen to $77,461 before trading around $77,600 by 2 p.m., according to CoinMarketCap data. The cryptocurrency had crossed $80,000 on August 27 for the first time since May but failed to sustain the gains.

Alongside the price pullback, institutional fund flows reversed direction. According to Farside Investors, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw total net outflows of $201.9 million (approximately 280 billion won) on August 28, ending a nine-session inflow streak that ran from August 17 through August 27.

The buying pressure had been intense leading up to the reversal. During that period, U.S. spot ETFs attracted a cumulative $3.0442 billion (approximately 4.2 trillion won), with a single-day inflow of $606.3 million (approximately 830 billion won) on August 20 alone. Bitcoin's price surged from the $64,000 range to above $80,000 during that stretch.

By product, ARKB — jointly managed by Ark Invest and 21Shares — saw the largest outflow at $114.9 million (approximately 160 billion won). Bitwise's BITB lost $49.7 million (approximately 68 billion won), while BlackRock's IBIT shed $33.4 million (approximately 46 billion won). VanEck's HODL also saw $13.2 million (approximately 18 billion won) exit. In contrast, Morgan Stanley's MSBT attracted $9.3 million (approximately 13 billion won) in fresh capital.