Investors yanked more than $385 million from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs last week, snapping a two-week winning streak as escalating Middle East tensions and renewed inflation worries sent traders to the exits. The pullback flips the prior week's $865 million inflow — the largest since April — and leaves bitcoin trading at $64,066, unchanged over the past seven days and the past month.
Why investors turned cautious
The outflows came as the U.S. war with Iran drags on, pushing oil prices higher and raising the risk that inflation could tick up again. That's a problem for bitcoin, which typically shines when cooling inflation fuels expectations of interest rate cuts. Hints from President Trump about a possible deal with Iran have given stocks and crypto temporary bumps, but the conflict shows no sign of ending.
BlackRock and Fidelity lead the exodus
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust and Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund saw the biggest withdrawals, while Morgan Stanley's fund actually pulled in net inflows. Notably, investors shrugged off the delay in a vote on the crypto Clarity Act — it didn't move the tape.
Coldcard hack adds to the gloom
Separately, a hack on July 31 drained over $115 million in bitcoin from Coldcard after cybercriminals found a software vulnerability. The incident is a reminder that security risks still lurk even as institutional money flows into ETFs.
A rough year for the asset
July's NYDIG report laid out the damage: bitcoin is the worst-performing asset so far in 2026, losing to U.S. Treasuries, silver, and the Swiss Franc. The report also warned that if the current drawdown mirrors the 2022 bear market, a cycle low near $38,000–$39,000 is possible. That's a far cry from the $64,000 level where the coin sits today.
With the war showing no end in sight, the next catalyst could be a shift in Fed policy or a surprise diplomatic breakthrough. The Clarity Act vote is still pending, but last week it barely registered.
