- Bitcoin climbed 22.5% from its Feb. 6 low of US$60,000 to reach US$74,509, marking a third consecutive week of gains driven by renewed institutional demand.
- US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded US$767 million in net inflows for the week ending March 13, snapping a five-month streak of net outflows totalling more than US$4 billion.
- Analysts cautioned that derivatives positioning is amplifying the rally alongside spot demand, with perpetual contract volume diverging from underlying spot flows ahead of the March 18 FOMC meeting.
Bitcoin (BTC) climbed to US$74,509 (AU$113,999), extending a three-week recovery from its February low as institutional demand returned to the market.
According to a Bloomberg report, US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded US$767 million (AU$1.17 billion) in net inflows for the week ending March 13, marking a third straight week of gains and the first such run in five months.
BlackRock’s IBIT led with US$600.1 million (AU$918.15 million), while Grayscale’s GBTC posted US$25.9 million (AU$39.63 million) in outflows. The rebound follows a period in late 2025 and early 2026 when more than US$4 billion (AU$6.12 billion) left spot Bitcoin funds.
Across all digital asset investment products, weekly inflows reached US$1.06 billion (AU$1.62 billion) by March 14. Bitcoin accounted for US$793 million (AU$1.21 billion), or about three-quarters of the total.
Unsurprisingly, the United States represented 96% of all inflows.
Related: Investors Accuse JPMorgan of Facilitating $328M Crypto Fraud
Corporate Treasuries Keep Accumulating
Corporate buyers also continued adding to their holdings and a recent example is Strategy, which bought 22,237 BTC for US$1.57 billion (AU$2.40 billion) last week, taking its treasury above 761,000 BTC.
In Japan, Metaplanet is not falling behind, raising US$255 million (AU$390.15 million) through a private placement to fund additional purchases, with potential proceeds rising to US$531 million (AU$812.43 million) if warrants are exercised.
The company said the new capital would support its goal of reaching 210,000 BTC by the end of 2027.
Moreover, Bitfinex analysts said institutional buyers are now absorbing nearly five times the amount of Bitcoin produced daily by miners. Keep in mind over 47,000 BTC, valued at about US$3.2 billion (AU$4.90 billion), were withdrawn from centralised exchanges over the past week, a pattern often associated with longer-term holding.
Still, part of the recent advance appears to be evidently driven by leverage.
CoinShares research head James Butterfill said investors have recently treated Bitcoin as a relative safe haven during market stress. That view could face a major test when the Federal Reserve announces its next interest rate decision on March 18.
Read more: Vitalik Buterin Says Ethereum’s Core Role May Be Simpler Than the Industry Thinks
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