US spot Bitcoin ETFs staged a late-week recovery that erased earlier outflows and helped Bitcoin reclaim $81,000 for the first time in a fortnight before pushing toward $87,000.

After redemptions of about $450 million on Tuesday and nearly $300 million on Wednesday left the complex deeply negative, Thursday’s $160 million rebound was followed by a $433 million intake on Friday, the strongest daily figure in more than two weeks.

Fidelity’s FBTC took in roughly $311 million and BlackRock’s IBIT another $108 million, lifting the five-day net total to a slim surplus of about $6 million as risk appetite returned across markets.

The rebound came against a difficult macro and regulatory backdrop. On September 16 the Federal Reserve delivered its first rate increase in more than three years, lifting the funds target to 3.75–4.00 percent amid sticky inflation and 10-year Treasury yields near 5 percent.

Higher rates raise the cost of holding non-yielding assets such as Bitcoin and tighten financial conditions that now move more closely with crypto. Investors largely treated the hike as priced in, however, and quickly shifted focus back to flows and risk assets.

Policy news cut both ways. The Senate’s rejection of the Clarity Act removed hoped-for market-structure legislation and helped trigger midweek ETF selling. At the same time, the SEC allowed limited trading of tokenized securities and the CFTC advanced crypto proposals for White House review, offering incremental administrative progress even as Congress stalled.

The episode underscored the growing role of regulated vehicles as a bridge between traditional capital and Bitcoin. Cumulative net inflows into US spot products now exceed $55 billion, with assets near $100 billion.

Flows remain concentrated in BlackRock and Fidelity, but their ability to reverse hundreds of millions of dollars in a single session shows how quickly institutional demand can return.

In a restrictive-rate environment with comprehensive legislation still elusive, those flows have become a key gauge of conviction, and the move back above $81,000 suggests institutions are, for now, looking through near-term headwinds toward Bitcoin’s scarcity and its deeper integration into mainstream portfolios.