Bitcoin Tests $80K as $731M ETF Inflow Collides With Fed Rate-Hike Risk

Bitcoin is struggling to hold $80,000 after one of its strongest institutional buying days of the year, as investors weigh a revived “debasement trade” against renewed Federal Reserve rate-hike risk.

BTC traded around $79,000–$80,000 Friday after reaching roughly $81,400 a day earlier. The reversal followed a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report showing 162,000 new positions in August, which pushed market-implied odds of a September Fed hike back toward 60%. Treasury yields initially jumped before the 10-year settled near 4.77%.

That leaves Bitcoin caught between two unusually powerful forces: institutional ETF demand and a bond market still worried about inflation.

ETF Buyers Are Back in Size

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $730.9 million on Thursday, their biggest single-day inflow since Jan. 14.

BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for roughly $454 million, while ARK 21Shares added around $138 million and Fidelity attracted $74 million. Total ETF assets climbed above $103 billion, equivalent to more than 6% of Bitcoin’s market capitalization.

That follows a powerful August in which the funds attracted about $3.52 billion, their strongest month of 2026.

Coinpaper has tracked the return of ETF demand and the earlier $3B buying streak that helped carry BTC toward $80,000.