Bitcoin ETF Inflows Rise Despite Extreme Fear: Institutions Buying BTC?

Key Insights:

• Ark Invest and Fidelity led the Bitcoin ETF inflows on Feb. 10, signalling a major flip in sentiment among institutions.
• Goldman Sachs disclosed $2.36 billion in crypto exposure in its Q4 2025 13F filing, up 15% QoQ.
• Sentiment remains in ‘extreme fear’ territory, hinting at limited downside risk and increased probability of trend reversals.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs are once again in the positive territory this week, with consistent inflows in the last three days. On Feb. 10, the net inflows surged further to $166 million as institutions seem to buy the dips.

Although the crowd sentiment has shifted to the ‘extreme fear’ zone, historical data indicate signs of a trend reversal. However, the BTC price is down 3% at press time, trading at $67,500, and could be in the final leg of a correction.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs Bounce Back

Per Farside Investors data, spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen consistent inflows since Feb. 9 after bleeding last week. On Feb. 10, the net inflows stood at $166.56 million. This showed renewed investor demand after recent volatility in the crypto market.

Leading the inflows was ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) with $68.53 million. Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) at $56.92 million followed this. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) added $26.53 million during the session and stood third.

It seems that Bitcoin ETFs are catching up once again amid the XRP ETF outperformance in recent weeks. This highlights that institutional capital could be returning to BTC in the near term.

Bitcoin ETF Inflows Hint At Accumulation

The latest inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs hint that big players have begun accumulation. As per their latest 13F filing, banking giant Goldman Sachs revealed its growing exposure to digital assets during Q4 2025.

Despite heightened volatility, the bank reported $2.36 billion in crypto-related holdings. This marks a 15% QoQ increase in the bank’s crypto holdings. The bank has so far invested $1.1 billion in Bitcoin, $1.0 billion in Ethereum, $153 million in XRP, and $108 million in Solana (SOL).

Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao shared his views on the development. Zhao said, “Crypto is probably the only place you had an earlier start than the banks. But if you sold your crypto last quarter, while the banks are buying, then…”

Another popular Crypto analyst, Crypto Patel, highlighted that Bitcoin has dropped sharply from its peak of $126,200. The price now sits at $59,800, marking a 52% decline. Thus, the short-term bearish conditions remain intact.

However, Patel believes that this could be the right time to chip in for long-term accumulation. According to him, such market phases have historically served as wealth-transfer periods. This is where patient investors are buying and preparing for the next bull season.

Crowd ‘Extreme Fear’ Conditions Hints BTC Trend Reversal

Santiment reported that Bitcoin rebounded from $60,000 last week. Yet, the market sentiment remains locked in ‘extreme fear’ conditions.

According to social media metrics, bearish commentary still significantly outweighs bullish sentiment. This shows that retail players are not willing to enter the market.

Santiment researchers observed that spikes in fear, uncertainty, and doubt often align with higher chances of price rebounds. They emphasized that such conditions have historically preceded Bitcoin recoveries.

Thus, big players will continue to accumulate at these levels and alleviate the selling pressure.

Furthermore, on-chain data shows that Bitcoin’s downside risk remains limited. The BTC Power Law indicator has just hit -95. It shows that Bitcoin is currently undervalued and trading below its long-term trend.

The last time the BTC power law divergence was this low, after an all-time high, was in November 2022. This does not ensure an immediate rebound.

However, a similar sentiment when it occurred last time shows that downside risk is limited in comparison to upside potential.

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