Bitcoin Falls Below $95K, But ETF Demand Just Hits Statistic Extremes – Willings Are Loading Again?

Crypto journalist

Anas Hasan

Crypto journalist

Anas Hasan

Since part of the group

June 2025

About the author

Anas is a crypto-native journalist and SEO writer with over five years of experience writing covering blockchain, crypto, crypto, and emerging technologies.

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Last Updated:

January 20, 2026

Bitcoin has fallen below $95,000 after retreating from highs near $98,000 this week, but signs of institutional interest in US spot ETFs are rising above statistical extremes, flashing their strongest reading in months.

Despite the bullishness, data on the chain shows sell-side pressure has increased and restocked, suggesting that whales may load during the consolidation.

Glassnode's recent market beat confirms that Bitcoin remains in a consolidating phase rather than a weakening trend, with the 14-day RSI ranging from 63.6 to 61.0 while staying above the neutral range.

Spot trading volume increased modestly from $8.8 billion to $9.3 billion, accompanied by a dramatic change in the net buy-sell imbalance above the upper statistical band, from -$4.6 million to $81.2 million, an increase of 1,877%, reflecting a reduction in sell-side pressure.

ETF demand has reached statistical extremes

US spot Bitcoin ETF flows last week turned sharply, moving from $1.3 billion in outflows to $1.7 billion in inflows, pushing activity above statistical norms.

The extreme reading showed a renewed institutional stock, with weekly ETF trading volume rising from $16.8 billion to $21.8 billion, and both measures sitting above their historical ranges.

BlackRock's IBIT led the gains, capturing $1.035 billion in the January 12-16 trading week and accounting for nearly three-quarters of all Bitcoin ETF demand.

“Institutional demand for Bitcoin is still strong,” confirmed the trend of institutional accumulation, according to CryptoQuant CEO Ki Yang Ju.

American wallets (typically holding 100 to 1,000 BTC each) have indicated a 577,000 BTC increase in value of $53 billion, a price consolidation that will continue to flow through January.

The ETF's MVRV ratio ended up at 1.71, sitting above the upper statistical band, indicating that ETF holders are comfortably in the profit zone.

Analysts at Glassnode pointed to this higher profitability as introducing mild near-term profitability risk, although the overall sentiment is constructive as institutions continue to build jobs.

Placement between the cooling capacity of mixed derivatives

Futures markets sent mixed signals as demand rose to $31.5 billion from $31.0 billion, reflecting what Glassnode analysts called “caution” over a rebuilding of speculative participation.

Funding volume fell 60.6%, from $1.5 million to $0.6 million daily, significantly reducing the urgency of the long side and reflecting a more balanced position after the recent euphoria.

Sustained Cumulative Delta improved from -$437.7 million to -$6.2 million, breaking above the upper statistical band.

Options markets continued to experience higher volatility, with open interest rising from $29.96 billion to $32.89 billion, and volatility rising from 42.8% to 44.6%, near the upper end of the historical range.

Movement on the chain is stabilized by careful progress.

Basic blockchain metrics have shown temporary recovery across several indicators.

Active addresses increased 3.8% to 656,294, remaining below the minimum statistical band but suggesting an improvement in network engagement without expected gains.

Entity-adjusted turnover rose 3.9 percent to $8.6 billion, maintaining balanced activity across the chain.

Bitcoin payout rose 13.2% to $241,100, rising above the lower statistical band.

The ratio of short-term to long-term collateral increased from 16.7% to 17.0%, rising above the upper statistical band amid rising trading activity from high volatility.

Guaranteed capital turnover improved from -0.3% to -0.1%, stabilizing capital flows and easing sell-side pressure.

The percentage of the profit margin rose from 70.6% to 75.1%, the net unexpected profit/loss increased from -8.1% to -3.8%, both parameters indicate the reduction of market stress and the recovery of investor sentiment.

Ethereum ETFs showed particular strength in December, with Fidelity's FETH pulling in $59.25 million and Greyscale's Ethereum Mini Trust adding $39.21 million to rank among the top 10 U.S. ETFs in net income.

The January flow accelerated further, with $479 million inflows in the week of January 12-16, followed by $219 million in BlackRock's ETHA and Ethereum ETFs.