Shocking: Diamond Hands Save BTC ETFs From Crash

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In the grim theatre of finance, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs hold their line. The asset has fallen by more than half, yet the banners of trust do not falter; they stand like weary workers in a dim factory, stubborn and patient.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas notes a sorrowful arithmetic: the BTC held by ETFs slid by only about 7%. The holders, said to be mostly veterans of money and pension pots, were dubbed “diamond hands” by the analyst, a label that sounds almost like a joke whispered by the factory pigeons in a wall of money.

“Bitcoin’s price is down 44% from October high, but the amount of BTC held by the ETFs is only down 6.6%. Boomer strong.”

Before the October crash, U.S. spot BTC ETFs held a record 1.362 million BTC. This stockpile had since dwindled to 1.272 million BTC by the 4th of February, as if the coins were marching out of a factory yard with tired feet.

Can ETFs withstand the pressure?

When the lens widens to the global holdings of BTC ETFs-encompassing the U.S., E.U., Asia, and distant corners-the same stubborn story repeats itself, as if the earth itself refuses to yield to fear.

Over the same period, global BTC ETF holdings dropped by only 72,400 BTC from October’s high of 1.50 million to 1.428 million BTC. A decline of 4.8%-not a blow so much as a stubborn sigh that the wind still blows.

Put differently, the market fears and outflows of recent weeks have not carved a gaping wound in the BTC held by ETFs. The wheels still turn, albeit with a certain sigh of iron and doubt.

However, the asset extended its price decline over the past 24 hours, tagging $60K for the first time since October 2024-like a bell tolling in a cold hall for a doorway half forgotten.

Although BTC price had moved up slightly to $65K at press time, there remained the whisper of uncertainty whether this was the bottom or merely a rendezvous with a cruel mirage.

That said, the latest dump saw BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) post its record daily trading volume of $10 billion and its second-worst price drop 13%-a march of coins that could make even sober analysts raise an eyebrow with a sardonic grin.

For Balchunas, this was “brutal,” sparking questions about whether ETF buyers can endure when markets threaten to slip further into the gray.

Is $60K the market bottom?

Meanwhile, Chris Burniske, a VC partner at Placeholder and former Ark Invest crypto lead, called the sub-$60K levels “of interest” but anticipated additional downbeat weather.

“Watching with interest, but not buying yet. Expect a bounce, but doubt the bloodletting is done.”

Chris had nailed the October market peak and the subsequent slide. He projected a bottom near $58K or $50K-levels that aligned with the 200-Day Simple Moving Average and the stubborn on-chain cost basis, as if fate itself had set a rough timetable for the machine.

Bitfinex analysts, meanwhile, appeared to cling to a thread of hope that the market had not yet reached a true bottom after the price dipped below the previous cycle’s peak of $69K. Yet they echoed Burniske’s caution,

“Order books show most demand under $66k as support bids were hit or pulled. That can set up a relief bounce, but without stronger spot demand and ETF flows, any move risks being just a lower high in a fragile market.”

Final Thoughts 

  • BTC held by U.S. spot ETFs has dropped by only about 7% despite BTC’s +50% price decline since October 2025
  • Despite the extended dip to $60K-$65K zone, analysts appeared cautiously optimistic for a potential BTC bottom.

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2026-02-06 14:51