Bitcoin’s climb back above $80,000 may look like a clean breakout, but the broader market signals suggest a more complicated story brewing beneath the surface.

While fresh inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs have helped fuel the latest move, recent market data shows that institutional demand hasn’t been consistently bullish. In fact, Bitcoin lagged equities for much of 2026, with BTC-USD down almost 11% this year so far, as against S&P 500’s 5% gains.

The cryptocurrency even saw periods of ETF outflows in the past couple of weeks, according to data from Farside Investors, despite strong “risk-on” sentiment in stocks, highlighting a disconnect between crypto and traditional markets.

That…

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