According to Eric Balchunas, $IBIT has attracted significantly higher inflows compared to other Bitcoin ETFs, with ten funds registering net positive flows, but IBIT standing out in volume. This divergence is unusual, as inflows are typically more evenly distributed among spot Bitcoin ETFs. Balchunas attributes this to the resurgence of the hedge fund basis trade and increased activity from institutional investors following Bitcoin's decoupling and subsequent price rally. For traders, this signals heightened institutional confidence in IBIT as a preferred vehicle, potentially leading to increased liquidity and tighter spreads, which could present arbitrage and volume-based trading opportunities. Source: Eric Balchunas via Twitter, May 5, 2025.

According to Eric Balchunas, recent weekly fund flows show VOO and IBIT at the top, mirroring last year's trend when 'beta with a side of bitcoin' dominated investment strategies. Notably, IBIT has climbed to 8th place in year-to-date ETF flows with over $6.4 billion in net inflows, a significant rise from being outside the Top 50 earlier this year. This surge, especially post-bitcoin decoupling, signals aggressive bitcoin accumulation within IBIT, highlighting heightened institutional demand and robust ETF trading activity for bitcoin-linked products (source: Eric Balchunas, Twitter, May 5, 2025).

According to Farside Investors, Bitcoin ETF net inflow reached $674.9 million on May 2, 2025, with BlackRock's IBIT ETF accounting for the entire inflow and all other major ETFs, including FBTC, BITB, ARKB, and GBTC, recording zero net flows. This concentrated inflow into IBIT indicates strong institutional buying demand for this specific fund, suggesting a potential bullish sentiment for Bitcoin price action in the short term (source: Farside Investors on Twitter). Traders may interpret this as a sign of market confidence focused on the IBIT product, which could influence Bitcoin spot and futures trading strategies.