Cryptocurrency August 9, 2026 04:51 AM

Bitcoin Dips Below $65,000 as ETF Inflows Clash With Fork Weakness

Robust spot ETF purchases supported prices even as a stalled BIP-110 minority chain highlighted fragmentation risks

By Leila Farooq
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Bitcoin slipped below $65,000 after modest overnight losses as strong U.S. spot ETF inflows counterbalanced concerns about a stalled BIP-110 minority chain. ETF inflows totaled about $1.1 billion across Bitcoin and Ether products last week, led by BlackRock’s IBIT, while the BIP-110 fork produced just two blocks in roughly eight hours, exposing the breakaway network's lack of mining power.

Bitcoin Dips Below $65,000 as ETF Inflows Clash With Fork Weakness
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Key Points

  • U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs attracted $1.1 billion last week, their strongest weekly performance since April.
  • Bitcoin traded below $65,000 at $64,800.9, recording a 0.28% decline over the prior 24 hours.
  • The BIP-110 minority chain produced only two blocks in about eight hours, highlighting its lack of mining power and potential replay-attack risk for holders.

Bitcoin traded under $65,000 on Sunday, edging down modestly over the prior 24 hours as heavy inflows to U.S. spot exchange-traded funds vied with anxiety around a stalled fork of the Bitcoin network.

Spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs in the U.S. attracted a combined $1.1 billion in the most recent week, marking their strongest weekly intake since April even though overall trading activity remained near multi-year lows. As of 04:54 ET (08:54 GMT), Bitcoin was changing hands at $64,800.9, a decline of 0.28% over the preceding 24 hours.

Bitcoin-focused funds recorded $853.5 million of inflows across five consecutive sessions through Friday, representing the largest weekly intake since April 17. BlackRock’s IBIT was responsible for $693.7 million of that total - more than 80% - while Fidelity’s FBTC added $116.4 million.

Spot Ether ETFs continued their positive streak, drawing $244.9 million for the week and extending a five-week run, the longest such sequence so far in 2026. Within that span, Thursday’s $92.2 million was the largest single-day inflow.

Market watchers noted ETF inflows persisted even after the Coldcard exploit came to light on July 30. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas flagged that several Bitcoin funds had posted daily inflows since the exploit. Separately, Galaxy Research estimated about 1,719 Bitcoin were stolen - roughly $111 million - and cautioned total losses could exceed $130 million.

Demand, however, eased into the weekend following an unexpected fall in U.S. payrolls, which decreased by 23,000 instead of rising by the 80,000 forecast. Turnover in Bitcoin ETFs declined 9% to $8.19 billion for the week, the second-lowest full-week total since October 2024.

Despite recent inflows, the funds remain negative year-to-date. Bitcoin ETFs have experienced around $4.44 billion in net outflows since January, while Ether products have recorded approximately $873 million of net outflows.


Fork developments

Separately, the controversial BIP-110 fork effectively stalled after producing just two blocks in about eight hours. In contrast, Bitcoin’s main chain advanced by 48 blocks across the same period, underscoring the breakaway network’s lack of mining power.

BIP-110 is designed to ban pictures, text and other non-payment data in Bitcoin transactions for a period of one year. Its mandatory-signalling period began at block 961,632, prompting nodes that support the proposal to reject blocks that do not signal approval.

Only 2.53% of recently mined blocks signalled support, well short of the 55% threshold. The minority chain inherited Bitcoin’s mining difficulty but lacks sufficient hash power to produce blocks at a regular pace; at the current rate, its next difficulty adjustment was estimated to be about 350 days away.

Both chains continue to accept identical transactions, a circumstance that leaves holders who attempt to sell coins on the fork vulnerable to replay attacks that could also transfer their real BTC.


Wider crypto price moves

Outside of Bitcoin, most altcoins posted mixed results during thin Sunday trading.

  • Ether was down 0.07%, trading at $1,915.52.
  • XRP traded at $1.0333, off 0.25%.
  • Solana gained 1.98%, trading at $76.28.
  • Cardano declined, down 1.05%.
  • Among memecoins, Dogecoin fell 0.44%, while $TRUMP rose 0.54% for the day.

Market participants continued to weigh the influence of ETF flows against network-level developments, with inflows providing support even as structural risks emerged from the stalled fork.

Risks

  • The stalled BIP-110 fork exposes holders who sell forked coins to replay attacks that could affect their real BTC - risk to cryptocurrency holders and exchanges.
  • ETF turnover fell to $8.19 billion for the week, a decline that coincided with weaker macro data - risk to market liquidity and ETF investors.
  • Despite recent inflows, Bitcoin and Ether ETF products remain net-negative year-to-date, indicating sustained outflow pressure that could weigh on crypto fund performance.

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