U.S. spot bitcoin funds took in about $1.08 billion in three days, then lost $635.6 million on Thursday. Bitcoin traded near $81,500 early Friday, close to what fund holders paid on average. Ether funds kept losing money, and crypto stocks swung far more than the coin.
Fund money came back this week, and the price did not follow.
Bitcoin traded near $81,500 early Friday. A week earlier, it traded near $82,800 at 7:25 a.m. Eastern. Ether slipped to near $2,400 from about $2,480.
The range held. Bitcoin hit a low of about $80,565 at 4 p.m. Sunday and a high of about $84,840 on Wednesday.
What changed was the driver. Funds put in their biggest three-day run in weeks, and bitcoin still fell. Rate fears faded, and bitcoin fell with tech stocks anyway. Crypto stocks moved several times as far as the coin, in both directions.
Here are the six forces that drove crypto this week.
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Fund Buying Came in a Burst, Then Left
U.S. spot bitcoin funds took in a net $442.7 million from Monday through Thursday, SoSoValue data showed. It was their first week of inflows after two weeks of outflows.
The burst started Monday. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) took in $665.2 million, its largest day since Oct. 7, 2025, Farside data showed. Fidelity and Grayscale funds lost money, so the group finished about $527 million net positive. Tuesday added $23.2 million.
Bitcoin ETFs took in about $1.08 billion in three days. Bitcoin still fell back to its 50-day average. Wednesday alone brought in about $528 million.
Then Thursday wiped it out. Bitcoin ETFs swung from $528 million in to $636 million out in a day. It was the largest outflow since June 25. It also turned October's flows negative, by SoSoValue's count. IBIT lost $254.1 million and Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) lost $217.5 million, The Block reported.
Access kept widening for large holders. Grayscale will take tokens instead of cash for 10 funds, with minimums of $80,300 to $364,800.
Flows Stopped Setting the Price
One fund led the buying, and the money left in a single day. Glassnode puts fund holders' average cost near $81,500, right where bitcoin sat early Friday. The next few flow prints will show whether funds are trading that level or the trend.
Ether Kept Losing Ground
Ether funds lost about $225 million from Monday through Thursday, based on Farside's daily data. Their October outflows passed $1 billion, the largest monthly drain of 2026.
Monday brought a fourth straight day of outflows, at $103.3 million. A $14.9 million inflow on Wednesday ended a five-day losing run. BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) still lost $29.3 million that day. Thursday took out $111 million.
The network had its own setback. Ethereum's next upgrade was pulled from its final test network. Security firm ChainSecurity found 13 real-world contracts that Glamsterdam's gas changes could make unsafe. The Oct. 26 test launch is off, and no mainnet date is set.
Solana shipped instead. Solana switched its consensus engine on a live network on Wednesday. Its token rose about 2%, in line with bitcoin.
Banks still chose Ethereum. JPM Coin on Ethereum puts a deposit token where stablecoins settle trades. JPMorgan Chase (JPM) has not said when.
Banks Built, Buyers Left
Ether fell about 3% on the week, about twice bitcoin's drop. Its best news came from a bank building on the network, not from buyers of the coin. The fund drain and the delayed upgrade gave holders two reasons to wait.
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Rates Eased, and Bitcoin Followed Tech
The October hike bet nearly vanished. Traders halved the odds of an October Fed hike in one session. Kalshi's contract fell to 6 cents from 12 cents on Thursday. The 10-year yield fell below 5% even as Brent hit a five-month high.
Last week, bitcoin rose as yields fell. This week, it did not. Bitcoin fell about 3.6% from Wednesday's U.S. close, to near $81,400 at Thursday's close. The Nasdaq fell about 2.6% that day. Meta's default swaps hit a record, and Meta (META) fell about 7%. Chipmakers fell 6%. Power and turbine stocks fell more. Lam Research (LRCX) dropped about 11.8%, AMD (AMD) about 8% and Nvidia (NVDA) about 4.4%.
Tech set bitcoin's direction all week. Bitcoin erased Sunday's slide overnight, rising with Nasdaq futures. Most of the climb came after stock futures reopened at 6 p.m. On Wednesday night, bitcoin slid as Asian markets opened. It hit about $81,730 by 5:32 a.m. Thursday, with no crypto-specific trigger.
Rate Relief Went to Bonds
Lower yields tend to help an asset that pays no interest. This week, Treasuries took the safety bid, and bitcoin traded like a tech stock. That leaves crypto more exposed to the AI trade than to the Fed.
Crypto Stocks Moved Several Times as Far
On Wednesday, bitcoin rose to its highest since Oct. 7, and the stocks did the running. Bitcoin gained about 2.3% from Tuesday's U.S. close. Strategy (MSTR) rose about 7.5% and Galaxy Digital (GLXY) about 7.4%. About $188 million of $243 million in liquidations hit short bets, CoinGlass data showed.
Thursday ran the other way. Bitcoin barely moved after the open. Bitcoin stocks fell as much as 9%. Galaxy fell about 9.7%, IREN (IREN) about 8.4% and Riot Platforms (RIOT) about 8.1%. Strategy fell about 5%, Coinbase (COIN) about 4.5% and Robinhood (HOOD) about 5.3%.
Leverage got new routes too. Kalshi will lend against bitcoin to fund futures margin. The same coin can then back both a loan and a futures position. Webull (BULL) will offer crypto perpetual futures on Kalshi's exchange to some U.S. customers from November.
The Stocks Carry the Swing
The miners and Galaxy kept falling through Thursday's session while bitcoin held still. These stocks now trade on the AI selloff as well as the coin.
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Treasury Buyers Paid More for Less Bitcoin
$193 million for STRC, $22 million for bitcoin. Strategy (MSTR) bought 267 bitcoin for $22.1 million, a Monday filing showed. It spent nearly nine times as much buying back its STRC preferred. Its board raised the preferred buyback limit to $3 billion.
Strive (ASST) bought 1,223 bitcoin. Strive's bitcoin treasury is now funding itself at about 17%. It closed a $630 million sale of 15% SATS preferred at $90 a share on Tuesday.
Fidelity Digital Assets counted more than 135,000 bitcoin bought with preferred stock through Oct. 5. The model works only if bitcoin beats the dividend cost, Fidelity said.
One supply risk moved out a year. Mt. Gox's end-of-October supply scare is off the calendar. Its trustee moved the repayment deadline to Oct. 31, 2027. Trackers have shown more than 34,000 bitcoin in wallets linked to the estate.
The Corporate Bid Costs More
The largest buyer spent mostly on its own paper, and the most active one pays about 17%. Corporate demand now depends on bitcoin beating a rising dividend bill. Mt. Gox's payouts can still come earlier.
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Stablecoin Rules Got a Start Date
The Comptroller of the Currency finalized its GENIUS Act stablecoin rules on Wednesday. Issuers must hold reserves at least equal to the coins outstanding. The ban on paying yield stays. The rules take effect Jan. 18, 2027. Circle (CRCL) rose about 4.5%.
JPMorgan Chase (JPM) put its tokenized money funds on Solana. One is built to hold stablecoin reserves under the GENIUS Act.
A Circle shareholder sued Trump, World Liberty and Witkoff over UAE-linked crypto deals. World Liberty called the claims without merit. Circle closed down 3.4% on Thursday with the sector.
Abroad, Robinhood won a Dubai license covering crypto and custody. Robinhood (HOOD) will not launch there until 2027.
Banks Are Building the Reserve Side
Stablecoin issuers now have a federal rulebook and a start date. Banks are building funds to hold their reserves. The lawsuit adds headline risk, but no penalty so far. Usage numbers are the next test of whether the rules draw real money.
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