Breaking: US Spot Bitcoin ETFs Rally as Inflows Rebound and Banks Back Crypto Treasuries

In a sharp shift, US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds posted a net inflow of $116.89 million on January 12,snapping a five-day stretch of outflows. The move arrives as Bitcoin trades hold a tight range in the $92,000–$94,000 band and the price creeps higher, supported by a solid base above the 50-day moving average.

Market participants used the latest redemptions phase to lock in gains, then stepped back in once BTC-USD found support near $90,000 and rose above the key 50-day EMA around $91,600. The surge in ETF demand comes amid a broader backdrop of corporate balance-sheet buying and a resilient price foundation, suggesting institutional exposure to Bitcoin remains tolerable in a volatile macro and regulatory habitat.

Flows where not uniform across issuers.About $111.75 million of the total $116.89 million was captured by the largest fund sponsor, driving the rebound. Grayscale’s flagship offering contributed roughly $64.25 million, with smaller inflows in its other fund. VanEck’s trust added around $6.48 million. The takeaway: investors are selectively choosing wrappers based on fees, liquidity, and brand strength, underscoring competition in bitcoin etfs rather than a unilateral surge.

At the center of the ETF landscape is BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). While the broader ETF complex logged a net inflow of $116.89 million, IBIT itself recorded mixed activity—roughly $70.44 million in redemptions on the day despite the overall inflow. The price of the ETF proxy rose to $53.52, up 1.65 points from the prior close of $51.87, with intraday swings between $52.22 and $53.66. The 52-week range spans from $42.98 to $71.82,highlighting the full cycle from listing to present sentiment. Market capitalization sits around $168.63 billion with an average daily volume near 53 million shares, underscoring IBIT’s liquidity as a primary on-ramp for institutions unable or unwilling to custody actual BTC.

Beyond ETFs, corporate treasuries continued direct Bitcoin accumulation. One major buyer added 13,600 BTC in a single transaction valued at more than $1.2 billion, lifting its holdings to roughly 687,400 BTC—an implied mark of about $63 billion in BTC-USD terms when prices sit above $90,000. The purchase was funded with roughly $1.1 billion of new equity and $119 million in high-yield preferred stock, illustrating how traditional capital markets are financing long‑only crypto treasury strategies. Regulators and index providers also weighed in; an industry-wide update from MSCI on crypto exposure left the index unchanged, preserving access to capital tied to crypto holdings while avoiding a forced sell-off.

On the Ethereum front, a large holder pursued a treasury-like approach, adding 24,266 ETH in the latest reporting week and lifting the total to more than 4.16 million ETH, about 3.45% of the circulating supply. Management has signaled a goal of reaching 5% of all ETH, a target that would require hundreds of thousands more coins.Any additional purchases hinge on shareholder approval for equity issuance at a forthcoming vote, underscoring the political and capitalization limits around sizable on-balance-sheet crypto strategies. Taken together, the ETH activity reinforces the central message: major crypto assets are increasingly treated as treasury reserves rather than mere trading instruments.

The price action corroborates the flow narrative.BTC-USD sits in the high-$90,000s to low-$100,000s domain, with the 50-day EMA providing early support. The RSI hovers around 58 and trending higher, suggesting growing buyer interest without overextended momentum. The MACD remains above its signal line, signaling a mild bullish tilt rather than a speculative frenzy. Overhead, the 100-day EMA sits near $95,940 and the 200-day EMA near $99,593, forming a ceiling that will require sustained demand to breach. A descending trendline tracing from the all-time high continues to cap upside; a daily close above that line would signal a more definitive breakout from the latest corrective phase. On the downside, slipping below the 50-day EMA could reopen the window to test the $90,000 area and possibly trigger deeper mean reversion if ETF flows turn negative again.

Looking at the broader supply-and-demand picture, ETF inflows, corporate treasury buys, and price structure are aligned in a way that supports further Bitcoin exposure. The next halving—expected later this year—will slow net new BTC issuance, reinforcing a tighter supply backdrop even as regulated ETF channels route institutional demand into spot coins. In macro terms, persistent inflation concerns, uneven growth, and ongoing central bank policy debates continue to bolster Bitcoin’s narrative as a balance-sheet hedge. ETF data reinforces this view: when risk appetite improves, flows resume; when volatility spikes, withdrawals remain contained rather than catastrophic.

Context from other spot products shows a similar pattern. Ethereum spot ETFs recorded about $5 million of net inflows after three days of redemptions, lifting cumulative inflows to roughly $12.44 billion and net assets to about $18.88 billion. While smaller in scale than Bitcoin’s ETF footprint, the Ethereum flow is meaningful. Across the broader trio of spot ETFs, fresh demand emerged with about $15 million in net inflows on the day, lifting cumulative inflows to around $1.23 billion and net assets to roughly $1.47 billion. In price terms, BTC-USD remains above the $92,000–$94,000 band, Ethereum trades above $3,100, and XRP holds above $2.00. Bitcoin remains the dominant macro driver among ETF-linked crypto assets, with ETH and XRP acting as high-beta satellites in the same institutional risk cycle.

Key levels and potential paths

The chart narrative centers on a few critical zones.The immediate pivot lies in the $3,150–$3,200 area for the related crypto instrument, where holding above this range preserves a bullish breakout storyline and pressure on short-sellers clustered just above. The next confirmation zone sits in a broader wedge near $3,350–$3,400,where the wedge’s apex,prior lows,and moving-average resistance converge. A sustained push beyond roughly $3,470 would undermine the bearish divergence and open room toward $3,910 and eventually $4,250 as logical extension targets. On the downside, $2,850 marks a near-term support floor, aligned with a cluster of long Liquidations and the lower bound of the current range. A swift move into that zone risks renewed risk-off pressure, rather than a value-based fall in fundamentals.If weakness intensifies to $2,650–$2,800 on a closing basis, ETH-USD could pull back toward major mid-2025 levels around $2,200 and even lower in a macro shock scenario.

Derivatives data imply at least one sharp shakeout within an environment of elevated leverage. yet the consensus suggests any such downturn would likely be absorbed by buyers rather than triggering a fresh, sustained bear market, provided the $2,650–$2,850 zone holds.

Bottom line for investors

Taken together, flows, treasury balance sheets, and price momentum paint a constructive backdrop for BTC-USD and the IBIT proxy. Positive ETF inflows, ongoing corporate accumulation, and a price base above the 50-day EMA point to a higher structural floor versus prior cycles. The risks include renewed spot ETF outflows, a failed breakout below critical support, and a macro shock that forces broad deleveraging. Still, the halving ahead, the scale of new ETF demand, and the growing weight of treasury-like holdings across major firms support a bullish stance for long-horizon exposure to Bitcoin and its ETF cousins.

That’s a synthesis of today’s market dynamics—where ETF channels,corporate treasury activity,and price action converge to shape the next phase of institutional crypto exposure.

Disclaimer: This information does not constitute financial advice. Market conditions can change rapidly; consult a financial advisor before making investment decisions.

engagement: How do you expect Bitcoin ETFs to perform through the next market cycle? do you anticipate the halving will meaningfully shift institutional exposure?

What’s your take on the role of treasury-style crypto holdings in corporate strategy? Share your thoughts and join the discussion below.

Share this breaking update with fellow investors and leave a comment to gauge how you’re navigating ETF-driven crypto exposure today.

For more context on this evolving landscape, monitor ETF flows alongside corporate treasury moves and price action as the market approaches the next halving. This combination of demand channels and supply dynamics could redefine risk tolerance for crypto assets in mainstream portfolios.

Breaking: ILO Sounds Alarm on Jobs Crisis as AI, Informality adn Trade Uncertainty Persist in 2026

A new global study finds that hundreds of millions of workers remain trapped in low-quality jobs, even as the unemployment rate holds near a historic low. The International Labor Institution warns that progress toward decent work stalled, wiht youth and women facing persistent barriers and automation and uncertain trade policies looming as new risks.

What the report shows

The latest Employment and Social Trends projection places the global jobless rate at 4.9 percent in 2026, equating to about 186 million people without work. Yet the broader picture reveals that many workers struggle to secure dignified,stable employment with adequate protections.

Informality remains a defining feature of the labour market. By 2026, roughly 2.1 billion workers are expected to be in informal employment, frequently enough lacking social protection, safe rights at work, and job security. The report notes that progress in low-income countries has been especially slow, widening gaps for those with the poorest work conditions.

Youth employment is a particular flashpoint. in 2025, youth unemployment rose to 12.4 percent, and about 260 million young people where not in education, employment, or training (NEET). In low-income regions, NEETs reach 27.9 percent, underscoring the challenge of turning youthful growth into productive labor. AI and automation could compound these hurdles for educated youth seeking their first high-skill roles in richer economies.

Gender equality remains distant. Women account for roughly two-fifths of global employment and are about 24 percent less likely than men to participate in the labor force.despite some gains, female participation has stalled, slowing progress toward equal outcomes at work.

demographics also shape the outlook. Aging populations in richer economies slow labor-force growth, while many lower-income countries contend with rapid population growth without enough productive jobs to absorb new entrants.

Regional and global growth dynamics are uneven. In 2026, employment is expected to rise by 0.5 percent in upper-middle-income countries, 1.8 percent in lower-middle-income economies, and 3.1 percent in low-income nations. Without ample productive opportunities, poorer countries risk squandering their demographic dividend.

Trade and uncertainty remain a double-edged sword for workers. Although trade supports hundreds of millions of jobs—an estimated 465 million worldwide—the pace of trade growth, policy ambiguity, and supply-chain bottlenecks are weighing on wages and job quality, particularly across Southeast and Southern Asia and Europe. Trade, however, remains a critical engine for job creation, especially in Asia and the Pacific.

Asia and the Pacific illustrate both risk and opportunity. The region already employs a large share of global workers, with the employment-to-population ratio at 57.9 percent in 2025. That figure is expected to dip through 2027 due to aging populations, even as green transitions push growth in renewable-energy sectors and other climate-aligned jobs.

key facts at a glance

evergreen viewpoint: what stays relevant

Even as the headline figures show a still-tight job market, the quality and stability of work are the real tests. The ILO highlights that expanding social protection, formalizing work, and boosting productive opportunities in lower-income regions are essential to translate population growth into shared prosperity. Women’s participation hinges on addressing norms and barriers that persist in many societies. For young people, linking education and training to high-demand sectors and ensuring safe pathways into first jobs are key priorities. Climate policies that accelerate green investment can generate durable employment, especially in regions most exposed to climate risks.

Policy-makers and business leaders alike should view this as a long-term signal: stabilizing wages, expanding social protection nets, and reducing uncertainty around trade will improve resilience for workers in both rich and developing economies. Investments in skills, digital literacy, and inclusive labor markets can definately help convert demographic momentum into economic vitality.

reader engagement

What policies would most effectively reduce informal work and raise living standards for the world’s lowest-paid workers? How can nations better prepare youth for sustainable,high-skill jobs in a rapidly evolving digital economy?

Share your thoughts in the comments and tell us which reforms you believe would make the biggest difference in your region.

Note: This overview reflects the latest ILO projections on employment and social trends for 2026 and regional dynamics, emphasizing the persistent gaps in decent work even amid declining unemployment.

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