BlackRock's head of digital assets says bitcoin's split from stocks marks a shift in sentiment, even as the token trades between $60,000 and $65,000. Spot bitcoin ETFs backed that view with their best inflow week since mid-April, while a cold-storage hack fuels speculation about a shift away from self-custody.
Sentiment turns as bitcoin decouples from stocks
Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock's head of digital assets, said Monday that a shift in perception around bitcoin is under way as it decouples from equities. According to Mitchnick: "We've seen sentiment turn in a noticeable, but subtle way the last month or so."
Bitcoin has fluctuated between roughly $60,000 and $65,000 for more than two months. The token was changing hands at $63,853, down about 2% on the day. That leaves bitcoin nearly 30% below its level at the start of the year and 50% off where it traded a year ago.
Mitchnick pointed to July as evidence, when AI stocks pulled back sharply and bitcoin outperformed significantly. He framed that split as healthy, part of the case for bitcoin as a diversifier and potentially a hedge against some of the left-tail risks elsewhere in a portfolio.
ETF investors keep buying despite the pullback
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs pulled in about $853.5 million over a five-session stretch last week, their best inflow week since mid-April. BlackRock's IBIT fund took in $693.7 million, more than 80% of the total. Fidelity's FBTC added $116.4 million, about 13%. Mitchnick said the ETF investor base has tended to be long-term holders rather than short-term traders.
A cold-storage hack meets a falling correlation
The Coldcard exploit, which reportedly resulted in the theft of more than $100 million in bitcoin from cold storage, has fueled speculation that some investors are shifting bitcoin into ETFs over security concerns. Bloomberg Intelligence's Eric Balchunas noted last week that bitcoin ETFs have drawn inflows every day since the hack, making it hard to rule out a link between the two.
Crypto Briefing reports that bitcoin has at times shown a correlation to the Nasdaq 100 as low as -0.43. Crypto Briefing adds that only about 0.2% of IBIT holdings were redeemed during recent bouts of volatility — a sign institutional holders aren't flinching. Mitchnick has been building this diversification case for over a year, recommending investors hold modest allocations of 1-2% in multi-asset portfolios.
Sources: The Block, Crypto Briefing
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