BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF pulled in its biggest single-day inflow in nearly three months on Friday, as investors piled into crypto-linked funds.
Heightened geopolitical tensions following the U.S. capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro have also helped spur the asset into a fourth consecutive daily win streak.
On Friday, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) recorded $287.4 million in inflows, its largest daily haul since October 8, 2024, according to Farside Investors data.
The spike comes as markets digest the Trump administration's controversial military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro over the weekend, which sent oil futures prices to four-year lows while crypto markets held steady.
"The U.S.'s capture of Maduro signals a key tick up in volatility," Sean Dawson, head of research at on-chain options platform Derive, told Decrypt. "The Trump Administration's disregard for geopolitical norms shows the President is willing to go to any length to promote his 'America First' policy."
"Given the Trump family's, along with their political allies', personal investments in crypto, the recent military operation is bullish as it shows that the administration views digital assets as strategically aligned with U.S. interests," Dawson added.
“The uptick in Bitcoin ETF flows is therefore unsurprising,” Dawson said, as investors increasingly price in an extended “America First” policy outlook marked by geopolitical assertiveness, policy uncertainty, and a regulatory climate favorable to crypto as “both a strategic asset and a macro hedge.”
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $471.3 million in total inflows on Friday, the highest combined daily total since mid-November, offsetting earlier outflows and lifting weekly net inflows to $459 million.
"Start of year portfolio rebalancing is likely a factor; Bitcoin underperformed other assets in Q4 2025 and, as a result, drifted below its target weight, thus start of year rebalance led to inflows," Pratik Kala, head of research at Apollo Crypto, told Decrypt.
Kala also cited "tax loss harvesting in Q4 flipped to maintaining long bias in Q1 2026," while emphasizing that "Maduro's capture by force solidifies the use case for Bitcoin.”
“A non-censorable decentralized store of value which is increasingly needed in a polarising world with a rapidly changing world order,” he added.
Bitcoin ETF inflow momentum spread as Fidelity's FBTC gained $88.1 million, Bitwise's BITB added $41.5 million, and Grayscale's GBTC attracted $15.4 million.
Bitcoin last traded at $92,670, up 1.4% over the last 24 hours.
