The Bitcoin price remains unable to cross the $70,000 mark, despite last week’s record milestone for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

On Oct. 17, the US-based spot Bitcoin ( BTC) ETFs crossed $20 billion in total net flows , just 10 months after their debut. This same milestone took gold ETFs nearly five years to achieve.

BTC rose to a nearly three-month high of $69,487 on Oct. 21 before pulling back to trade at $68,570 as of 8:25 am UTC, according to Cointelegraph data.

Bitcoin stalls below $70K despite $20B ETF inflow milestone image 0

BTC/USD, 1-year chart. Source: Cointelegraph

The sluggish price action may be due to the delayed effect of ETF inflows, which can take a few days to impact the spot BTC price, according to Bitfinex analysts.

The ask-heavy order book suggests that crypto traders are using ETF flows as exit liquidity for their trades, the analysts told Cointelegraph:

“Usually, this means that large ETF inflows have a muted impact for a few days and then the market reverses lower once the aggression from spot market buyers fades. We need sustained spot market interest to push price out of the current range bound price action.”

Positive ETF inflows could help the Bitcoin price reach a new all-time high. By Feb. 15, just one month after they launched, United States-based spot BTC ETFs accounted for about  75% of new investment  in the cryptocurrency, which had surpassed the $50,000 mark at the time.

Related: Trump pump? Bitcoin climbs to 2.5-month high as Trump widens lead

BlackRock ETF tops inflows with $1.17 billion

Bitcoin ETFs have had limited immediate impact on the price, with several days often passing before inflows generate bullish momentum, Bitfinex analysts explained:

“Despite the significant inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, particularly into the BlackRock and Fidelity funds, the price impact has been muted on several instances on days when net inflows exceeded $500 million worth of BTC.” 

During the past week, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF brought in over $1.17 billion worth of Bitcoin, noted onchain intelligence firm Lookonchain in an Oct. 21 X post.

Bitcoin stalls below $70K despite $20B ETF inflow milestone image 1

Bitcoin price vs iShares Bitcoin Trust, BlackRock, BTC holdings. Source: Lookonchain

Bitifnex analysts explained that a percentage of last week’s ETF inflows could also be part of a delta-neutral trading strategy, another reason for their price impact to be muted.

Related: Ether price in 7-month decline amid ‘L1 wars,’ says analyst

Bitcoin nudges bullish weekly candle close

In an optimistic signal for price action, Bitcoin managed to perform a green weekly close above the psychological mark of $69,000.

This could set Bitcoin up for a rally to retest the re-accumulation range of above $71,000 for the first time since June 2024, wrote popular crypto analyst Rekt Capital in an Oct. 20 X post, accompanied by the chart below.

Bitcoin stalls below $70K despite $20B ETF inflow milestone image 2

BTC/USD, 1-week chart. Source: Rekt Capital

Bitcoin could also see more positive ETF inflows bolstered by the first Bitcoin ETF options in the US, which were approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 18.

Magazine: Bitcoin $500K prediction, spot Ether ETF ‘staking issue’— Thomas Fahrer, X Hall of Flame