Bitcoin ETFs Attract $667M as CME Activity Signals Market Revival

After weeks of tepid action, demand for U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs surged on Monday, with net inflows reaching $667.4 million—the strongest daily total in over two weeks.

The resurgence comes as institutional investors return to a favored arbitrage strategy that had largely disappeared in early Q2.

Leading the pack was BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which absorbed $306 million of the total inflows, pushing its cumulative net intake close to $46 billion. This wave of activity coincides with Bitcoin’s eleventh straight day above the $100,000 mark, reviving confidence in crypto-linked equity products.

At the heart of the renewed interest is the comeback of “basis trading”—a market-neutral strategy where investors go long on spot ETFs while shorting CME Bitcoin futures to profit from the price gap. The annualized yield on this trade has nearly doubled to around 9%, after bottoming near 4.5% in April. That return, analysts say, is once again drawing professional capital into the space.

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“Yields are back at levels that attract institutional money,” noted analyst James Van Straten, calling it a clear pivot from the uncertainty seen just a month ago.

CME Bitcoin futures volume echoed that sentiment, climbing to $8.4 billion—the highest since late April. Open interest rose sharply as well, climbing over 30,000 contracts since last month’s lows to reach 158,000 BTC, according to Velo.

Though both metrics still lag behind January’s highs—when Bitcoin broke its previous record at $109,000—the recent momentum signals renewed appetite from traders who had previously exited. For instance, filings show that the Wisconsin State Retirement Board offloaded its Bitcoin ETF positions earlier this year, likely due to unattractive arbitrage spreads at the time.

Now, with those spreads widening again, analysts say the stage is set for more institutional players to re-enter the market in Q2, chasing yield in a reinvigorated arbitrage landscape.

Alexander Stefanov