The cooling of Bitcoin’s mid-August rally was underscored by a sharp reversal in US spot ETF performance. Over the last four sessions, the total ETF market surrendered roughly 38% of its post-rebound gains. Bitcoin (BTC) itself dipped below the psychologically significant $63,000 level, signaling a pause in the bullish momentum seen earlier in the month.
On August 13, the broader market retreat cast a shadow over institutional products. BlackRock’s IBIT and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust were the lone outliers, managing to attract fresh capital amidst a sea of outflows or neutral activity from competitors. This concentration of liquidity suggests that institutional investors are becoming increasingly selective during periods of heightened volatility.
This retracement highlights the fragile nature of the current recovery, which remains sensitive to macroeconomic sentiment and US interest rate expectations. Traders should watch the $60,000 support zone closely; a failure to hold this level could trigger a deeper correction, while a reclaim of $65,000 is required to flip the short-term bias back to bullish.