Bitcoin’s 38% plunge just revealed who has paper hands — and it wasn’t ETF buyers
Despite a 38% Bitcoin price decline, US spot ETF holders remained disciplined, proving that selling pressure originated from legacy crypto-native holders instead.Summary
Data from the March-April 2026 market downturn reveals that US spot Bitcoin ETF investors displayed significant resilience, maintaining net inflows while the price dropped 38% from its October peak. According to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, the selling pressure was largely driven by long-tenured crypto holders rather than institutional ETF participants. The structure of ETFs—governed by portfolio constraints, advisor guardrails, and rebalancing schedules—encourages a long-term perspective. While skeptics feared a mass exit, these formal vehicles instead fostered disciplined holding. Whether this behavior remains structural or is merely conditional on market conditions remains a key question for future volatility events.
(Source：CryptoSlate)