U.S.-listed spot-bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have absorbed a fresh wave of capital, gathering roughly $5.61 billion since the beginning of April, according to SoSoValue. The surge coincides with bitcoin’s rebound from $75,000 to about $100,000.
Flows point to outright bullish bets
Historically, institutions used spot ETFs for “cash-and-carry” arbitrage—buying the ETF while shorting CME bitcoin futures to lock in the basis spread without price risk. If that neutral strategy dominated, short interest on the futures side would have climbed.
Instead, CFTC Commitment of Traders data show the opposite:
- Leveraged funds’ net-short position fell to 14,139 contracts from 17,141 in early April.
- A rise in shorts would be expected if carry trades were fueling ETF demand.
“The absence of a big jump in futures shorts implies these inflows are conviction longs, not market-neutral hedges,” wrote Imran Lakha of Options Insight in a Deribit post.
Numbers at a glance
| Period | Net ETF inflow |
|---|---|
| April 1–30 | $2.97 B |
| May 1–17 | $2.64 B |
| Since launch (Jan 2024) | $41 B+ |
What it means
Large investors now appear to be using ETFs to express a directional view on bitcoin’s upside rather than harvesting basis spreads. With spot allocations swelling and short hedges shrinking, bullish sentiment is increasingly visible on regulated venues.
At last check, bitcoin was trading near $102,700 (CoinDesk), holding most of its spring gains as ETF demand shows little sign of cooling.
