Bitcoin held above $80,000 over the weekend after rebounding from a turbulent week, supported by renewed institutional demand as U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded more than $433 million in net inflows on Friday. Bitcoin was trading around $80,479.4 as of 01:07 ET on Sunday, retaining much of its recovery after falling toward $76,400 earlier in the week, and was up about 0.2% on the day. U.S. Bitcoin ETFs attracted $433.03 million on Sept. 18, led by Fidelity's FBTC with $310.72 million, while BlackRock's IBIT received $108.44 million, Bitwise's BITB added $9.69 million, and VanEck's HODL and Ark & 21Shares' ARKB recorded smaller inflows. ETF trading value reached $4.67 billion on Friday, with combined net assets rising by more than $7 billion to $102.53 billion. Demand extended into other digital assets, with Ether ETFs recording $143.80 million of net inflows, Solana funds attracting $47.62 million, and Zcash products adding $37.67 million. On the regulatory front, the Senate failed to advance the CLARITY Act on Sept. 15, leaving broader U.S. crypto market legislation unresolved, while Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor argued the industry can keep expanding through existing regulatory channels such as bank custody, Bitcoin-backed lending, stablecoins and digital credit.
Fed raises rates by 0.25 points, widening divides across housing, credit cards, AI and Bitcoin
The Fed raised its policy rate by 0.25 points to 3.75–4.00%. The vote was unanimous at 12–0, and 16 of the 18 participants expect at least one more rate hike before the end of the year. Major U.S. banks have raised their prime rate from 6.75% to 7.00%, and the extra cost is already flowing through to credit cards and variable-rate business loans. Homeowners who locked in 30-year fixed mortgages at rates in the 2–3% range during the pandemic's low-rate era, however, will not see their payments rise right away, while those buying now face the 30-year fixed average of 6.76% that Freddie Mac reported as of September 10, 2026, widening the divide between generations. In San Francisco, two economies coexist: AI companies and those with stock-based compensation on one side, and early-stage startups funding themselves through loans along with restaurants, retailers and freelancers on the other. Higher rates are a headwind for Bitcoin on the liquidity front, but for stablecoin issuers that hold short-term U.S. Treasuries as reserve assets, they are a driver of expanding interest income.
Solana ETFs Notch 12 Straight Weeks of Inflows as Bitcoin Posts Smallest Weekly Gain in 141 Weeks
Spot Solana ETFs extended their inflow streak to 12 consecutive weeks, pulling in $13.2 million in the week ending September 18, 2026, while Bitcoin spot ETFs netted just $6.2 million over the same period, the smallest weekly inflow in the funds' 141 weeks of trading since launching on January 11, 2024. Solana's daily flows were modest but never negative, with $11.01 million on September 14, $1.35 million on September 15, $836,926 on September 16 and no change on September 17, even as the Senate rejected the CLARITY Act by a 49 to 50 vote on September 15 and the Federal Reserve raised its target range by 25 basis points to an upper bound of 3.75% to 4.00% the next day. Bitcoin funds swung sharply in contrast, losing $450.33 million on September 15 and $295.98 million on September 16 before recovering with $159.45 million on September 17 and $433.03 million on September 18, leaving three positive sessions worth $752.52 million against two negative sessions of $746.31 million and a total gross movement of $1.499 billion. The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, FBTC, posted the largest single-day inflow at $310.7 million, while the iShares Bitcoin Trust, IBIT, added $108 million. The Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, BSOL, was the only Solana fund with disclosed inflows for the week and closed 12.12% higher, ahead of SOL's own 11.29% gain, as Bitcoin funds hold cumulative inflows of $55.16 billion and net assets of $102.53 billion versus Solana's $1.37 billion and $1.42 billion.
Bitcoin Rebounds to $81,000, but Binance Reserve Rise to 702,900 BTC Signals Selling Pressure
Bitcoin has rebounded to around $81,000, but on-chain data from Binance points to growing potential selling pressure. According to CryptoQuant data, Binance's exchange reserves shifted to an upward trend from roughly 616,000 BTC in late April, with the latest reading reaching about 702,900 BTC, the highest level so far in 2026. Net flows have also shown several net inflows in the thousands of BTC since late August, with the most recent showing a net inflow of about 439 BTC. On the other hand, the exchange whale ratio stands at about 0.43 in the latest reading, not notably elevated compared with past peaks, and does not indicate a wave of simultaneous selling by large holders. It remains unclear whether the price rebound is driven by sustained spot buying, and it will be necessary to determine whether there is real backing for an improvement in supply and demand.
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