Bitget Research: Institutions Back BTC and ETH Rally

Bitcoin and Ethereum are riding a wave of institutional money that looks nothing like the retail frenzies that drove prior cycles. That is the core argument from Ryan Lee, Chief Analyst at Bitget Research, who told reporters this week that steady ETF inflows and reduced leverage across the market are giving the current rally a structural foundation that earlier bull runs simply lacked.

Eight Days, $2.1 Billion, and a Record That Matters

The headline number is striking on its own. US spot Bitcoin ETF inflows hit $2.1 billion across eight consecutive days of net inflows through April 23, the longest unbroken streak since October 2025. Of that total, BlackRock's IBIT alone captured approximately 75% of all inflows entering the category. That kind of concentration tells you something about where the conviction sits.

Lee made the point that this is not a market propped up by retail traders chasing green candles. The math backs him up. During that eight-day window, institutional buyers absorbed roughly 19,000 BTC against the approximately 2,100 BTC that miners produced over the same period. Put differently, demand ran at about nine times supply. That imbalance is the kind of structural pressure that moves price floors, not just spot prices.

Corporate balance-sheet buying has also been layering on top of ETF flows. Both forces have been reinforcing the idea, among analysts watching the space, that Bitcoin is cementing its role as a digital reserve asset, a framing that was theoretical a few years ago and is now showing up in fund flows.

The current move is not being driven by aggressive speculative positioning, which gives the rally a firmer base than earlier cycles shaped mainly by retail momentum.

Where Does Bitget Research See BTC and ETH Heading?

What is Bitget Research's short-term price target for Bitcoin and Ethereum?

Bitget Research Chief Analyst Ryan Lee set out a short-term price case for both assets. For Bitcoin, the target band is $80,000 to $85,000, contingent on ETF inflows continuing at their current pace. For Ethereum, the call is $2,800 to $3,000, powered by ecosystem upgrades and broadening adoption across developer activity and on-chain usage.

Lee's framing emphasizes that both assets have already outperformed gold and broad equity indices in 2026, no small feat given that geopolitical uncertainty and sticky inflation would typically push capital toward bullion rather than risk assets. The fact that crypto has held up in that environment, and arguably benefited from it, points to a change in how institutional allocators are thinking about the asset class.

Lower leverage across the market is a key part of the structural story too. When rallies happen on compressed funding rates and lighter derivatives positioning, they tend to be stickier. There is less fuel for a cascade unwind if macro conditions shift. That is a different picture than 2021 or early 2024, when open interest and funding rates were elevated throughout the run-up.

Gold, Oil, and the Macro Pressure That Has Not Gone Away

Lee did not gloss over the macro headwinds. Gold holding near elevated levels reflects genuine demand for defensive assets, markets are still pricing in geopolitical risk, inflation that refuses to settle, and central banks that are in no rush to cut rates. His read is that this does not necessarily hurt crypto; it describes a world where capital is spreading across multiple stores of value rather than crowding into a single hedge.

Oil is the wild card in that picture. When crude pushed toward $100 per barrel earlier in 2026, it triggered risk-off selling that pulled more than $296 million out of spot Bitcoin ETFs in a single week. Higher energy costs complicate the rate-cut timeline, they push inflation up at the same time they tighten consumer spending, which makes the Fed's job harder and keeps liquidity conditions tighter for longer.

Lee's conclusion is direct: the upside for digital assets depends on whether institutional flows keep absorbing macro shocks rather than amplifying them. If large allocators treat Bitcoin as a portfolio diversifier and hold through turbulence, the dip-buying dynamic that characterized the April inflow streak can continue. If macro pressure gets bad enough to trigger institutional redemptions, the structural story gets tested in a way it has not been yet.

So far in this cycle, the data favors the bulls. Nine times miner supply absorbed in eight days is not a number you see when money is getting nervous. But the story is still being written.

If that continues, crypto remains positioned as part of broader portfolio construction.