Bitcoin news: BTC reclaims $74,000 as ETFs see $5.3B volume

Bitcoin’s latest rally has been backed by a sharp increase in institutional activity. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded more than $5.3 billion in trading volume as BTC reclaimed $74,000 for the first time in 86 days.

BlackRock’s IBIT dominated activity with $4.44 billion in volume. Fidelity’s FBTC came next at $438 million and Grayscale at $208.8 million. Meanwhile, Bitwise, ARK Invest, VanEck, Morgan Stanley, Franklin Templeton, Invesco, Valkyrie, WisdomTree and Hashdex accounted for the remaining volume as per data.

$517M Flows as Bitcoin Jumps 17%

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs also attracted $517.19 million in net inflows, their strongest inflow day since May 4. Eight of the 12 funds recorded positive flows. BlackRock’s IBIT led with $284.7 million, followed by ARK and 21Shares’ ARKB at $77.7 million. Fidelity’s FBTC came next at $62.4 million.

The ETF activity came as Bitcoin surged roughly 17% in two days. It added around $11,000 and more than $220 billion to its market capitalization.

The rally has also triggered a major short squeeze. More than $3.6 billion in short positions have been liquidated over the past 72 hours, including $2.75 billion in Bitcoin shorts on Wednesday. Over the following 24 hours, another $783.2 million in Bitcoin positions were liquidated. Of this, $747.7 million came from shorts, according to CoinGlass data.

What Fueled this Rally?

• The rally followed the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision to at least double liquidity-support buyback operations for longer-dated nominal coupon securities. This applies in the 10- to 30-year segment.
• Additional catalysts included the SEC’s latest crypto proposal. There was also a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and prominent crypto executives, helping trigger the unexpected move higher.

McGlone Warns Rally Could Fade

Despite the surge, Bloomberg’s Mike McGlone remains bearish. He described the move as “a bounce within the purge”, arguing that August can produce short squeezes even during a broader bear market.

McGlone criticized Bitcoin’s volatility and correlation with stocks, saying institutional investors face unfavorable risk-reward characteristics. He also argued that the rapid expansion of the wider crypto market has created excessive supply. Consequently, he expects Bitcoin to potentially roll over by year-end.

While he supports blockchain technology, McGlone argues Bitcoin’s original peer-to-peer cash use case has weakened. This comes with the emergence of crypto-dollar alternatives.