US spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds absorbed $986.9 million in the week ending Friday, pushing three-week cumulative inflows to $3.8 billion — the strongest stretch of 2026, according to SoSoValue data cited by Cointelegraph.
The funds drew $730.9 million on Thursday alone, the largest single-day tally since January, as BTC briefly reclaimed $80,000. Friday’s reading stayed positive even as spot prices weakened.
BTC sold off from $81,300 to a local low of $78,600 after the August nonfarm payrolls print beat consensus, before recovering to around $79,500, according to market data. The hotter jobs number pushed traders to reprice the Federal Reserve’s September policy decision.
That sets up the divergence. Three weeks of net inflows totaling $3.8 billion coincided with BTC swinging between $78,600 and $83,000 without sustaining a breakout. Capital is arriving through the ETF channel. Spot buyers are not.
CryptoQuant flagged weak fresh demand and a key $83,000 resistance test, per Cointelegraph. That level has not cleared since the payrolls-driven pullback.
SoSoValue’s daily tracker showed $101.15 million in net inflows on September 2, with BTC near $77,341, according to data compiled by SoSoValue. The weekly $986.9 million figure spans Monday through Friday.
The Thursday $730.9 million haul was the largest single-day reading since January. August inflows had already hit a 2026 high earlier in the month. The pickup suggests institutional appetite through the ETF wrapper recovered after a quiet spring, even as spot BTC struggled to hold above $80,000.
BTC has not closed above $83,000 since before the payrolls print. The August jobs data beat consensus on headline payrolls, pushing traders to reprice rate-cut odds in real time. What the Federal Reserve does at its September meeting remains unclear.
What is not yet known: whether Friday’s positive ETF reading holds through next week, and whether $83,000 gives way before the next FOMC. CryptoQuant’s demand signal was weak. The ETF channel and the spot market are telling different stories.
Holders, as ever, are divided.
