US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds extended their inflow streak this week, adding $203.1 million over six consecutive trading days—the longest such run since April. Crypto-linked equities also gained ground as investors responded to improving US regulatory prospects and signs that the AI-driven speculative trade may be cooling.

Beyond crypto's own momentum, a broader market narrative shift appears underway. After fueling repeated rallies for nearly two years, enthusiasm for AI stocks is becoming increasingly selective. Analysts point to a pullback in semiconductor sentiment—reflected in the Philadelphia Semiconductor Index (SOX)—as investors begin distinguishing between companies with durable earnings and those still valued largely on growth promises.

Spot Bitcoin ETF Inflows Revive a Key Institutional Signal

According to earlier coverage from Cointelegraph, US spot Bitcoin ETFs extended their inflow streak to six consecutive trading days. The most recent session brought in $203.1 million in fresh capital, pushing the six-day total to approximately $930 million. The renewed demand coincided with Bitcoin briefly trading above $67,000 and an improvement in overall market sentiment.

These funds launched in January 2024 after the SEC granted approval following more than a decade of applications and rejections, opening a regulated channel for institutional allocators to gain Bitcoin exposure without direct custody. The current inflow streak's significance lies in what it may signal about whether those allocators are returning after a period dominated by net outflows.

Separately, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index reportedly recovered from "extreme fear" to "fear," indicating less pervasive risk-off behavior among retail and sentiment-driven market participants. While the inflow streak does not constitute a full reversal of earlier weakness, it represents the funds' longest positive run since April—a key benchmark for traders monitoring whether institutional demand is stabilizing.

Data from the source indicates that since launching in January 2024, US spot Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated $51.8 billion in cumulative net inflows and hold $80.9 billion in net assets. However, they still carry a $4.84 billion year-to-date net flow deficit, underscoring that the recovery remains uneven and could fade if inflows halt.

Analysts quoted in the article highlighted a critical technical level: Bitcoin likely needs to sustain trading above the $65,000 to $65,500 zone to build the case for a durable bullish move rather than another short-lived bounce.

Crypto Rallies Alongside Regulatory Optimism and a Selective AI Bid

The broader digital asset rally tracked two themes: progress toward clearer US crypto regulation and indications that the AI trade may be losing steam. Cointelegraph coverage connected the move to optimism around US crypto legislation, citing remarks from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that lawmakers were at the "1-yard line" on the CLARITY Act—a bill designed to establish a regulatory framework for digital assets.

Such a framework would address a gap that has placed US-based crypto firms at a structural disadvantage relative to competing jurisdictions. The European Union, for instance, began phasing in its comprehensive Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation in 2024, giving firms in that region a defined rulebook for operating across member states.

In the equities space, the article noted double-digit gains among crypto-adjacent stocks, including Coinbase, American Bitcoin, and Cipher Digital. This equity participation matters because it reflects how quickly investors are willing to extend risk beyond pure crypto exposure—suggesting they see a credible path for continued involvement in the sector rather than viewing it as a one-off momentum event.

Meanwhile, the source argues that the AI narrative is becoming more discriminating. FRNT Financial CEO Stephane Ouellette attributed part of the potential opportunity to slowing enthusiasm for AI stocks and growing confidence around interest-rate expectations. These conditions can be significant for crypto, which often competes for the same pool of speculative and risk capital—particularly when markets reward "growth at any price" themes.

The SOX index decline illustrates this dynamic. The article notes that SOX has slipped into a technical bear market, falling more than 20% from a recent high, though it remains above year-ago levels. The implication: when AI infrastructure sentiment softens, capital may seek alternative narratives, including crypto, where expectations and valuations may be less stretched or closer to improving fundamental demand signals.

Miners Lean Into AI Infrastructure as Deal Flow Reshapes the Sector

While Bitcoin's spot-market performance is typically viewed as the dominant driver of mining equities, the source emphasizes that deal announcements are becoming central to investor attention in this cycle. Bitcoin mining stocks reportedly surged after Hut 8 and IREN disclosed large AI infrastructure agreements.

These deals build on a precedent set earlier in the cycle, when Core Scientific entered a multi-year hosting agreement with AI cloud provider CoreWeave, demonstrating that miners' existing power infrastructure and data-center footprints could be redirected toward high-performance computing workloads.

Cointelegraph coverage cited several movers: Hut 8, IREN, Cipher Digital, CleanSpark, and MARA Holdings all gained after Hut 8 announced a 15-year, $9.8 billion lease for its AI data center campus. IREN separately disclosed $2.8 billion in cloud services contracts with AI developers.

These announcements reinforce a broader shift: miners are increasingly positioning themselves not merely as Bitcoin production businesses, but as compute and data-center operators aligned with AI workload demand. The source further notes that IREN projects more than $4 billion in annual recurring AI cloud revenue by the end of 2026, illustrating how the sector is attempting to translate infrastructure buildouts into longer-term cash-flow expectations.

Nevertheless, the pivot introduces new concerns. Blocksbridge Consulting estimates that the sector may require approximately $50 billion in additional capital to execute its AI ambitions. The article also mentions heightened scrutiny around insider stock sales—a factor that can influence investor confidence when companies are simultaneously expanding balance-sheet exposure and asking the market to value future AI-linked revenue streams.

Robinhood's Next Phase: Tokenization and Prediction Markets, Bernstein Says

Beyond direct spot Bitcoin and equities, the source highlights a separate institutional perspective on how crypto-related business models may evolve. Bernstein reportedly raised its price target on Robinhood shares to $160 from $130 while maintaining an Outperform rating, arguing that the brokerage's longer-term growth could be driven by tokenized assets and prediction markets rather than traditional crypto trading alone.

According to the article, Bernstein expects prediction markets to become Robinhood's fastest-growing business line, projecting $1.7 billion in revenue by 2028. The firm also identified tokenized equities as a major opportunity, citing Robinhood's Arbitrum-based layer-2 infrastructure as an enabling component for bringing real-world assets on-chain.

The bullish outlook aligns with a broader Wall Street push toward tokenization infrastructure. The source notes expanding blockchain-based securities efforts by companies such as Broadridge, Alpaca, Securitize, and Cantor Fitzgerald. BlackRock's 2024 launch of BUIDL, a tokenized fund on Ethereum built with Securitize, further illustrates how the largest asset managers are testing on-chain distribution for institutional products. While these initiatives are distinct from spot-market adoption, they represent another pathway through which regulated digital finance use cases may expand—potentially broadening demand for crypto-adjacent services even amid fluctuations in retail trading enthusiasm.

In the coming weeks, investors will likely watch whether the ETF inflow streak extends beyond six days and whether Bitcoin can consistently hold the $65,000–$65,500 area. Traders may also monitor whether the rotation away from the most crowded AI expressions continues, as a sustained easing in AI equity sentiment could loosen the speculative grip that has previously crowded out other risk assets.