The crowd that helped usher Bitcoin into mainstream finance is showing up again. About $3.5 billion flowed into US listed spot Bitcoin ETFs in August, the most since July 2025, even as the token has struggled to stick around the $80,000 mark. The bounce was big - Bitcoin climbed 25% for its best month since November 2024 - but momentum hit a ceiling near that round number before prices slipped to $76,393 on Tuesday.
A prolonged downturn gave way after Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent moved to rein in US borrowing costs, rekindling the so called debasement trade and sparking the unwinding of a record pile of leveraged bets. Bessent said the US would increase buybacks of long dated bonds to push yields lower. His announcement coincided with Trump hosting digital asset executives and urging Senate leaders to pass a long awaited market structure bill.
The shift gathered speed as Bitcoin broke through levels that pressured short sellers to cover. As Bessent's effort took some air out of the dollar, risk assets like Bitcoin found extra support. Bitwise Asset Management's chief investment officer, Matt Hougan, said, "For the past few months, investors have been waiting for an excuse to buy crypto." "Prices were down, but the underlying fundamentals were strong. Bessent gave them that excuse earlier in August and they jumped in with both feet."
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StoneX senior market analyst Fiona Cincotta said, "Concerns over the US fiscal position have driven demand for alternative assets such as Bitcoin and precious metals, while a rebound in spot Bitcoin ETF inflows and growing hopes for clearer US crypto regulation have provided an additional boost." Pantera Capital Management founder and managing partner Dan Morehead told Bloomberg TV, "Bitcoin and crypto are a macro trade and as governments are going to keep printing money and debasing paper money, hard assets like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are going to do very well."
Citigroup's Alex Saunders and Vinh Vo note the rebound has brought prices nearer to the flow weighted average cost for spot Bitcoin ETF buyers, roughly in the $80,000 to $83,000 range. "These flows are a key price driver," they wrote.
If the renewed demand sticks around through year end, it would mark a break from the slump that left many ETF buyers with losses. Persistent buying via funds could help close that gap and revive an old dynamic in crypto - fresh demand chasing a scarce asset. One fund dominated the comeback: BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust captured about 88% of net inflows in August. For everyday investors, that concentration and the tug of war around $80,000 are the tells to watch.
