Bitcoin held above $81,000 on Saturday, October 17, climbing 0.6% to $81,544.8 as of 19:00 GMT. The move followed a volatile trading week in which prices briefly fell below the $80,000 support level, while an earlier surge past $84,000 failed to sustain momentum. Stronger U.S. economic indicators and expectations of tighter monetary policy continued to weigh on cryptocurrency market sentiment.
Institutional investment activity remained inconsistent. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $82.39 million in net outflows on October 16, according to Coinfomania, with BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accounting for $71.78 million of those withdrawals. The outflows reflected investor redemptions rather than direct Bitcoin sales by BlackRock.
ETF flows fluctuated through the week. On October 12, Bitcoin investment funds saw $65.4 million in withdrawals, entirely from IBIT. Sentiment improved on October 13, when spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $175.7 million in fresh capital, led by Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund at $103.1 million, followed by IBIT at $65.9 million. The recovery proved temporary: October 14 brought approximately $261.4 million in outflows, reinforcing concerns about weakening institutional Bitcoin demand. Ethereum investment products also faced selling pressure, registering $69.68 million in withdrawals on October 16.