ETF Wars: Bitcoin Pulls $5.23B, Gold Bleeds Outflows

🚨 Bitcoin ETFs beat gold in May with $5.23B Inflows

Bitcoin is gaining ground as Wall Street’s hedge of choice.

In May, U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs brought in $5.23 billion in net inflows, while gold-backed ETFs recorded $1.58 billion in outflows. It’s the first time this year Bitcoin has overtaken gold in ETF demand and the shift speaks volumes.

Several factors fueled the move:

• Bitcoin hit a new all-time high of $111,980

• Stablecoin legislation gained momentum in Washington

• Concerns around U.S. debt and currency stability resurfaced
  

Institutional money is responding.

Gold is still leading in returns:  +27% YTD for gold vs. +12% for Bitcoin. But momentum is shifting.

ETF Breakdown:

• BlackRock’s IBIT led inflows with $584M last week, now holding $48.57B total

• Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust added $19.81M, reaching $1.4B total inflow

• Bitcoin ETFs saw only four outflow days in May

Gold ETFs had a strong start to the month, but flows flipped mid-May. Bitcoin ETFs, meanwhile, remained net positive throughout despite a brief price pullback that saw BTC dip to the $104K range.

This isn’t just about ETF mechanics. It reflects a broader shift in mindset.

Gold remains the classic hedge, but Bitcoin’s digital scarcity, deepening institutional support, and growing regulatory clarity are strengthening its case. Analysts say both assets are being used to hedge against G7 currency risk but in May, Bitcoin took the spotlight.

📚 Read also: BlackRock’s IBIT sees $400 million exit in first outflow after 30-day streak ends

BlackRock iShares Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) IBIT has experienced its first day of outflow in more than 30 days, with $400 million in value exiting from the ETF and ending its streak. The outflow followed a recent decline in BTC value, which saw its price below $105,000.

📊 Market Watch:

Stablecoin activity hits new highs in May

According to Artemis data, 33.1 million wallets interacted with stablecoins in May — the highest on record. This surge reflects growing demand for cheaper, faster payments and cross-chain transfers, particularly across TRON and BNB Smart Chain.

 Payments, not just parking

Stablecoins carried an estimated $2.2 trillion in transaction volume over 30 days, surpassing traditional channels like remittances and even VISA. Their primary uses remain:

• Trading on centralized exchanges

• DeFi collateral and liquidity

• P2P payments and transfers between self-custodied wallets

BNB Smart Chain and TRON led network activity, with 10.1M and 9.1M active wallets respectively in early May. Both are favored for low-cost payments and high-speed DeFi.

 Supply growth and issuer trends

The total stablecoin supply rose to $244 billion, up 2.88% over the month.

• Tether (USDT) added $3.9 billion, most of it minted on TRON (now holding 77.7B USDT)

• Ethereum’s USDT sits just behind, with 73B

• Total USDT supply is now above 153B, growing almost daily

Meanwhile, Circle’s USDC remained active across chains despite a slight drop in total supply, driven by outflows from Solana. However, bridging activity for USDC soared, with over $7.7B moved via the CCTP bridge, marking an 83% month-on-month increase.

 Regulation and composition

Stablecoins backed by fiat remain dominant, making up 90.5% of total supply, and are viewed as most likely to pass future regulatory hurdles.

• Crypto-overcollateralized stablecoins account for 9% (~$11.3B)

• Algorithmic stablecoins continue to fade, now just $752M in value, down from $1.3B a year ago

Still, a few standouts emerged:

• Ethena’s USDE grew from 4.6B to 5.5B tokens, boosted by ETH price gains

• Sky Protocol’s USDS shrank from 8B to 7B tokens

📚 Read also: Tether goes public with shut out from Juventus fundraising despite 10% ownership stake

Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino has expressed concerns about the management of Juventus Football Club. The stablecoin issuer, which recently increased its stake in the Italian Serie A club to more than 10%, said it had been prevented from investing further in the sports team.

💼 Treasury Watch:

Strategy adds 705 BTC as Metaplanet follows suit

The Bitcoin treasury race is heating up again and Strategy is still leading from the front.

On June 2, Strategy added another 705 BTC to its holdings, investing $75.1 million at an average price of $106,495 per coin. This latest buy brings its total to 580,955 BTC, acquired at an average cost of $70,023 now worth over $60.46 billion.

That’s an unrealized profit of $19.76 billion, and a 48.56% return on their cumulative Bitcoin exposure.

Even as Bitcoin dipped below $105K, Strategy’s long-term strategy continues to pay off. Recent purchases are mixed in short-term performance — with some June and May buys slightly in the red — but earlier acquisitions are showing up to 25% gains. Strategy has kept its YTD Bitcoin yield at 16.9% despite ongoing market volatility.

Metaplanet follows Strategy’s footsteps

The impact of Strategy’s playbook isn’t just felt in the U.S.

Japan’s Metaplanet, widely seen as Asia’s answer to Strategy, announced a fresh 1,088 BTC purchase, bringing its total holdings to 8,888 BTC. The average purchase price was $108,633, slightly higher than Strategy’s entry, but still within long-term accumulation range.

Backed by a recent $21 million bond raise, Metaplanet’s move mirrors Strategy’s debt-funded acquisition model — and signals its intent to push past 10,000 BTC by year’s end.

The market responded immediately:

• Metaplanet’s share price surged to 1,142 JPY ($7.97)

• Search interest spiked 300%, especially from North America and Europe

• Investors increasingly view it as the "MSTR of Japan", offering stock-market exposure to Bitcoin

With an average acquisition cost of $93,354 per BTC, Metaplanet sits on solid ground. And with its high-frequency buying strategy, the company has become one of the fastest-growing BTC holders in Asia, part of a larger wave that now includes 116 public companies holding a combined 3.38M BTC.

📚 Read also: Ross Ulbricht bags $31M in Bitcoin donations

Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht has received a transfer of 300 Bitcoins in donations, valued at approximately $31.4 million. According to the blockchain analysis platform Lookonchain, the funds were sent to Ulbricht’s donation wallet just a few hours ago.

🏛️ Regulation Watch: 

SEC Halts Ethereum and Solana Staking ETFs

The SEC has stepped in to block two proposed ETFs that aimed to offer staking rewards from Ethereum and Solana. The products, filed by REX Financial and Osprey Funds under ETF Opportunities Trust, had just cleared initial registration but the Commission quickly flagged legal issues.

The SEC said the funds may not legally qualify as investment companies under federal law and that the filings were potentially misleading. While technically approved, the ETFs are now effectively on hold, with the agency warning it may take further steps to ensure compliance.

Both funds planned to pass staking rewards directly to shareholders, blending crypto-native yield mechanisms into a traditional ETF wrapper. But the SEC’s concern reflects a deeper discomfort: staking rewards don’t behave like conventional income, and regulators still haven’t settled on how to treat them.

This is the second time in recent months the SEC has challenged an ETF structure post-registration. A similar pushback in March halted a private credit ETF from State Street and Apollo.

The latest move shows the SEC is still not ready to allow complex crypto-native products into the public markets especially those that generate yield through mechanisms it doesn’t fully regulate.

At the same time, Bitcoin ETFs are thriving. Over the past five weeks, U.S. Bitcoin ETFs have brought in over $9 billion in inflows, led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. Gold ETFs, meanwhile, have lost $2.8 billion during the same period.

📚 Read also: Sberbank, Moscow Exchange lead race to launch crypto derivatives in Russia

Financial institutions in Russia, from brokers and banks to stock exchanges, are announcing a number of offerings of crypto derivatives following the central bank’s decision to legalize the latter.

Market-moving headlines 🔥

Join the Conversation!

We'd love to hear your thoughts and comments. Join our community and stay updated with the latest trends and discussions in crypto.

Twitter: @CPOfficialtx

Telegram Channel: @CryptopolitanOfficial 

Beehiiv: https://cryptopolitan.beehiiv.com/

Linkedin: https://uk.linkedin.com/company/cryptopolitan

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cryptopolitan

News | Economy | Regulation | Price predictions