Bitcoin ETF sheds 917 BTC as Chainlink gains ETF support

A spot Bitcoin ETF unloaded 917 BTC on Aug. 15 while Chainlink won fresh ETF product support, pointing to institutional capital rotating toward altcoins.

A Bitcoin ETF shed 917 BTC on Aug. 15 as Chainlink gained ETF support, pointing to institutional capital rotating toward altcoins.

The outflow comes even as U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $853 million in the week ended Aug. 7, the strongest weekly intake since April, with BlackRock's IBIT accounting for $693 million, SoSoValue data shows. The funds now hold about $78 billion in bitcoin, though flows remain choppy — they shed $145 million on Aug. 10 alone.

Bitcoin traded near $63,602 on Tuesday, down 1.2 percent in a day, and held around $64,000 this week. The rotation matters because price is set at the margin: public miners have already added $1.78 billion of selling pressure this year, unloading 28,000 BTC, while ETF outflows top $4.4 billion year-to-date.

Chainlink's ETF Push

Chainlink's new ETF backing marks a rare bright spot in a year when bitcoin has fallen 27 percent to just under $64,000, underperforming every major asset including the S&P 500. The token's support comes as BlackRock cut the minimum for in-kind swaps into IBIT to $1 million from $25 million, opening a direct route into the fund without selling first, Bloomberg's ETF IQ show revealed Aug. 10.

The swap route, permitted by the SEC for crypto ETFs in July 2025, lets holders hand over bitcoin and receive IBIT shares with no sale taking place. Because IBIT runs as a grantor trust, the IRS treats shareholders as still owning the bitcoin inside the fund, so the swap may defer capital gains — though the IRS has not formally ruled on it.

For miners, the picture is mixed. Public miners have cut holdings to 99,000 BTC from 127,000 at the start of the year, with the average cost to produce one bitcoin at $74,300. Mining difficulty has fallen about 18 percent from its November peak, easing competition and boosting rewards for those still in the game.

Friday's unexpectedly weak July jobs report has cooled bets on further Federal Reserve rate hikes, clearing a path for continued institutional buying. The next test comes with July U.S. CPI data, due Aug. 12, which could sway both ETF flows and bitcoin's trajectory. Bitcoin's market capitalization sits near $1.30 trillion, roughly 50 percent below the record high of about $126,000 reached in October 2025. Whether the rotation into Chainlink deepens depends on whether ETF inflows can turn consistently positive — a condition that has preceded every meaningful rally in past cycles.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.