Risk appetite is picking up again in the bitcoin market. The 13 U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of $996.4 million over the past five trading days. A large share of the demand came on April 17, when the group saw a combined $664 million in net inflows, with steady additions throughout the week. The U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF complex now holds 6.55% of $BTC's circulating supply.

Wallets associated with the U.S. government transferred 8.2 BTC—worth about $628,000—to Coinbase Prime, Arkham Intelligence reported. The bitcoin came from assets seized in connection with the 2016 Bitfinex hack.

Morgan Stanley's Bitcoin holdings have reached 1,348 BTC, with the position valued at more than $102 million.

ChainCatcher cited Coinglass data showing that if BTC rises above $79,870, potential liquidations of long positions across major centralized exchanges would total $1.804 billion. If BTC drops below $72,750, potential liquidations of short positions across major CEXs would reach $746 million.

Bitcoin miner flows are showing a textbook stress cycle, with operating costs dictating supply to the market rather than optional profit-taking. Across 2022 and 2023, miners typically sold 15,000–20,000 BTC per quarter, providing steady liquidity. Selling pressure eased in 2024: quarterly outflows fell below 10,000 BTC and briefly flipped negative in Q4, pointing to a short-lived balance-sheet repair. That respite did not last. In Q1 2026, miners sold more than 32,000 BTC, a move consistent with forced liquidation. The shift coincides with hashprice sliding to about $33/PH/s/day, below an estimated $35 breakeven, leaving nearly 20% of miners operating at a loss. As miner reserves trend down toward 1.8 million BTC, additional supply moves into circulation, and market absorption becomes the key variable for whether prices stabilize or volatility persists. Selling power fades as miners move from pressure to exhaustion As the bulk of forced selling clears, behavior is increasingly consistent with miner exhaustion. Earlier in the cycle, spikes in selling power aligned with peaks, reflecting profit-taking and margin-driven distribution. After the halving, that pattern weakens as block rewards decline and less efficient operators are pushed out, helping explain the sharp drop in selling power toward 5.9. At the same time, the Miner's Position Index (MPI) remained negative for weeks, often around 0.8–1.0, indicating reduced transfers to exchanges. More recently, MPI has been gravitating back toward 0, suggesting selling is no longer accelerating and is instead stabilizing. In practical terms, the most urgent supply appears to have already hit the market, lowering downside pressure and shifting price control more squarely toward demand. Demand takes the lead as ETFs are tasked with absorbing supply With miner-driven pressure easing, the market enters a more demand-led phase, where ETFs are expected to absorb remaining supply. ETF inflows have repeatedly spiked above $300 million, signaling strong episodic absorption rather than steady accumulation. This matters because MPI has stayed deeply negative—bottoming near 1.04 before stabilizing—reinforcing that miner outflows have already slowed materially. With structural selling pressure fading, forced resistance on price diminishes. Still, participation via ETFs remains uneven, and spot volumes continue to trail derivatives activity. Bitcoin holding near $77,000 increasingly depends on whether institutional inflows become consistent; choppy demand could prolong consolidation even as supply conditions improve. Final summary After the 32,000 BTC miner selloff, the market has largely absorbed miner supply, leaving demand as the primary driver around $77,000. Sustained inflows are now critical, as uneven demand may keep Bitcoin range-bound despite easing sell pressure.

Morgan Stanley Investment Management has launched MSBT on the New York Stock Exchange, marking the first time a major U.S. bank has introduced a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

BitCluster is building a 120 MW Bitcoin mining data center in Ethiopia, citing the country's favorable climate and ample renewable power. Ethiopia is targeting an increase in its share of global Bitcoin hashrate to 5% this year, up from 2.5%.

Bitcoin spot ETFs drew a combined net inflow of about 12,142 BTC this week, CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost said in a post cited by ChainCatcher. Darkfost estimated the average cost basis for ETF investors at roughly $82,247, leaving holders still sitting on overall losses. ETF flows have strengthened notably since March, with inflows taking the lead. Trading activity has also picked up, with ETF volume rising to $4.7 billion, narrowing the gap with spot market turnover of $6.2 billion.