US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds attracted substantial capital in early August, posting consecutive daily net inflows that totaled approximately $626 million across three trading sessions. The surge reversed earlier periods of heavy redemptions and arrived as investors continued to discuss the implications of a recent hardware wallet exploit that affected thousands of addresses.

Inflow Streak Details and Leading Funds

Data tracked across the category showed net inflows of roughly $170 million on one session, $211 million the next, and $244 million on the third. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust accounted for the largest share of the activity. On the session with the biggest single-day total, the fund alone drew nearly $197 million. Other products from Fidelity, Bitwise, ARK 21Shares, and related vehicles also recorded positive flows, while one smaller fund posted a modest outflow that did little to offset the broader advance.

Combined trading volume for Bitcoin ETFs reached about $1.58 billion on the strongest day, with total net assets across the group standing near $79 billion. Ether funds participated in the move as well, adding more than $60 million on the same session, again led by BlackRock products. Smaller categories showed mixed results, with one altcoin fund seeing limited inflows after prior withdrawals and another recording outflows.

Broader weekly figures pointed to even stronger cumulative demand. Some tallies placed August inflows above $750 million, positioning the period among the more active stretches for the products since the spring. The activity followed a difficult stretch earlier in the summer when daily redemptions had reached several hundred million dollars on consecutive sessions.

Timing With Coldcard Exploit and Analyst Commentary

The inflow streak began shortly after reports of an exploit involving Coldcard hardware wallets. Blockchain analysis firms estimated losses at more than $116 million in Bitcoin across more than 5,200 addresses, with some assessments placing the total above $130 million. The incident involved a firmware vulnerability that allowed attackers to compromise private keys on affected devices.

Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas observed that several major Bitcoin funds recorded inflows on every trading day following the weekend disclosure of the exploit. He estimated the cumulative total for the named group of products at roughly $620 million. Balchunas stopped short of asserting a direct causal link.

In a separate comment, the analyst contrasted the resources of large asset managers with those of smaller hardware wallet developers, suggesting that institutional custody frameworks may appear more attractive to some investors after high-profile self-custody incidents.

Renewed Discussion of Self-Custody Trade-Offs

The exploit revived longstanding arguments about the relative risks of holding Bitcoin directly versus gaining exposure through regulated funds. Hardware wallets have long been promoted as a way to keep private keys offline, yet the Coldcard case illustrated that firmware and software flaws can still create exposure even for users who avoid centralized platforms.

Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao joined the conversation, arguing that centralized exchange custody may now be statistically safer than self-custody based on available loss data compiled by analyst Willy Woo. Zhao noted that losses on the self-custody side are often harder to measure because many incidents go unreported, while exchange-related events tend to receive more public attention.

The discussion occurred against a backdrop of rising concern about sophisticated cyber threats, including AI-assisted attacks that allow adversaries to identify and exploit weaknesses more quickly. One non-custodial Bitcoin swap service temporarily suspended operations, citing the accelerated pace of such exploits.

Whale Activity and Market Context

On-chain metrics indicated that larger holders continued to accumulate Bitcoin even as the price remained below $65,000. Wallets controlling between 10 and 10,000 Bitcoin added more than 20,000 coins, valued at nearly $1.2 billion, over a recent multi-week period. Retail participation appeared weaker, a pattern some analysts attributed in part to regulatory uncertainty after the delay of a key legislative vote until September and to the sideways price action.

Bitcoin traded near $64,000 to $65,000 during the inflow period, showing limited immediate reaction to the ETF demand. Analysts noted that institutions appeared to be adding exposure carefully rather than chasing rapid price moves. A convincing close above $65,000 was described as a potential catalyst for further upside toward higher levels.

The combination of steady ETF buying, continued whale accumulation, and ongoing debate over custody models left market participants focused on whether the recent capital flows would prove durable or fade once attention on the hardware wallet incident diminished. Future daily flow data will provide the clearest signal of whether institutional interest has shifted in a more sustained way.