Key Highlights
Bitcoin crossed $80,000 on May 4 as U.S. spot ETFs recorded a net inflow of $629 million in a single session, the strongest daily figure in recent weeks.
Cumulative net inflows into U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs since their January 2024 launch have reached $58.72 billion, still below the October 2025 peak of $61.19 billion.
Analysts caution that April's price rally was driven by perpetual futures demand rather than spot buying, raising questions about the durability of the move above $80,000.
Bitcoin reclaimed the $80,000 level on May 4 as U.S.-listed spot ETFs registered a net inflow of $629 million for the session. The move lifted total net assets held in spot bitcoin ETF products above $100 billion and ended several weeks of price consolidation below that threshold.
The two-month ETF flow recovery now totals $3.29 billion, bringing cumulative net inflows since launch to $58.72 billion. That figure remains roughly $2.5 billion short of the $61.19 billion peak reached in October 2025, as the rebound has not yet offset the $6.38 billion in outflows seen between November 2025 and February 2026.
Despite the price recovery, analysts have raised a structural concern. According to market data, April's rally was driven "entirely by growth in perpetual futures demand," while spot demand remained in contraction throughout the period. Derivatives-led rallies without spot market support tend to be more vulnerable to sharp reversals when momentum shifts.
Trader positioning reflects that caution. CryptoQuant data shows underlying spot demand remains weak, and Polymarket odds place just a 23% probability on bitcoin reaching $90,000 in May. The 21Shares chief investment officer cited the recent pace of inflows as evidence that institutional demand is intact and still sees a path to $100,000 by year-end, though the broader market appears to be treating the $80,000 reclaim as a technical checkpoint rather than the start of a new leg higher.
