Bitcoin ETFs Extend Inflow Streak In Spite Of Middle East Tensions
Bitcoin ETFs in the United States saw strong inflows of $388.3 million on June 18, which was their eighth successive day of gains.
The inflows stayed strong despite the ongoing geopolitical stress between Israel and Iran. BlackRock’s IBIT led with nearly $279 million in inflows, while Fidelity’s FBTC also posted outstanding gains. On The Other Hand, Ether ETFs, led by BlackRock’s ETHA, also resumed their positive momentum. On the other hand, Iran’s crypto sector suffered after a pro-Israel hacking group exploited the Nobitex exchange, which triggered the reserve bank to restrict trading hours. Telegram creator Pavel Durov also recently cautioned of a social collapse due to France’s increasing censorship and regulatory pressure.
Bitcoin ETFs Grow in Volatile Market Area
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States recorded $388.3 million in inflows on June 18. This was the 8th consecutive day of capital injections regardless of the geopolitical stress stemming from the Israel-Iran dispute.
Crypto analytics platform Santiment mentioned that Bitcoin remained durable in the $104,000 to $105,000 range throughout the day. They mentioned that this behavior mirrors patterns that were seen in previous geopolitical events like the Russia-Ukraine war in 2022 and the Israel-Palestine conflict in late 2023, where Bitcoin initially dropped but rapidly stabilized.
Other ETFs also showed strength, with the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) recording an $11.3 million inflow, while products from ARK Invest, Invesco, Franklin Templeton, Valkyrie, VanEck, and WisdomTree did not register any movement. The only major outflows originated from Grayscale items. The Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) lost $16.4 million, while its lower-cost equivalent, the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust, shed another $10.1 million.
Still, the more comprehensive trend is still positive. Since April 17, Bitcoin ETFs recorded just 8 days of net outflows and attracted $11.2 billion in inflows. In total, more than $46.3 billion has flowed into the eleven US-based Bitcoin ETFs to date, with BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC managing $50.6 billion and $11.5 billion in assets, respectively. This includes big outflows of $23.2 billion from Grayscale’s GBTC item.
Area Ether ETFs in the US are also seeing increased attention. Despite a short time out in inflows on June 13, the funds got better with three straight days of inflows between June 16 and 18. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) is leading the Ether ETF market also, and it just experienced two days without inflows since May 20.
Iran Limits Crypto Exchange Hours After Pro-Israel Hack
While the Middle East stress did not decrease inflows into Bitcoin ETFs, it did affect the crypto space in Iran itself. Iran’s central bank imposed rigorous operating hours on domestic cryptocurrency exchanges after a significant security breach at Nobitex, the country’s leading crypto trading platform.
The new regulations limit trading to between 10 am and 8 pm to try and improve oversight and handle potential future attacks during working hours. The decision was made after a pro-Israel hacker group declared responsibility for an exploit that drained over $100 million from Nobitex’s hot wallets across several cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dogecoin, XRP, and Solana.
According to Chainalysis, the stolen funds were not moved to new wallets for profit but were instead sent to burner addresses, completely removing them from circulation. This politically motivated attack stands out in contrast to typical financially driven exploits.
Andrew Fierman, head of national security intelligence at Chainalysis, explained that Iran may be trying to assert tighter control over resident crypto activity, especially during a period of increasing geopolitical tension and the potential for capital flight.
This is not the first time Iran’s central bank intervened in the crypto market. In December, all exchanges were temporarily shut down to prevent further devaluation of the Iranian rial. Now, in the wake of the Nobitex incident and Israel’s airstrikes on Iranian territory on June 13, authorities are once again exercising tighter control over the country’s crypto infrastructure.
Nobitex confirmed the breach publicly and announced that external access to its servers had been severed. The exchange reassured its users that its reserve fund will fully cover the losses and that affected hot wallets are being transferred to cold storage. Web disruptions and limited server access are likely to delay the restoration of user access.
Chainalysis shed some light on Nobitex’s central role in Iran’s digital asset community, with more than $11 billion in inflows. This is much larger than the next ten Iranian exchanges combined. The platform is seen as a crucial link for Iranians navigating sanctions to participate in global crypto markets. However, its operations have also been linked to groups considered terrorist organizations by Western authorities, in addition to sanctioned Russian exchanges like Garantex and Bitpapa.
Pavel Durov Warns of Collapse in France
Tensions are mounting in other parts of the world. Telegram creator Pavel Durov warned that France risks facing social collapse if it continues pursuing what he refers to as a misguided path of censorship and overregulation.
In an interview with French publication Le Point, Durov expressed his dissatisfaction with President Emmanuel Macron’s leadership and stated that France is becoming “weaker and weaker” and losing its competitive edge. He remarked that failing to enact necessary reforms and raising generations under restrictive ideologies could lead to radical transformations and even collapse.
This is in stark contrast with innovation-friendly environments like Dubai, which he said are attracting France’s top talent.
Durov’s comments are part of a wider media campaign he undertook since his arrest in France in August of 2024. That arrest drew significant backlash from the crypto industry and global civil rights advocates, who saw it as a threat to free speech and digital sovereignty. While the legal case is still under international scrutiny, Durov speaks out against what he sees as creeping authoritarianism under the guise of regulatory reform.
In the interview, Durov also made significant allegations against France’s intelligence services by stating that their chief, Nicolas Lerner, approached him at the Hôtel de Crillon and requested the censorship of pro-conservative content ahead of Romania’s May 2025 presidential election. Durov said he rejected the request as it contradicted the principles of open discourse. He also criticized the European Union’s Digital Services Act and described it as a deceptive legal framework that could enable widespread censorship under the pretext of consumer protection and misinformation control. Durov warned that such laws are inherently dangerous as they could be turned against those who helped enact them.
