Bitcoin up 12% in April as Strategy buys $4.13B of BTC

Bitcoin rose about 12% in April, closing the month near $77,350 and marking its second positive monthly finish since September 2025. Strategy, the company formerly known as MicroStrategy, bought roughly $4.13 billion of bitcoin over four trades in April. Strategy’s stock gained about 33% for the month, ending a nine-month losing streak.

U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded sustained inflows through much of April. One provider posted its best weekly inflow in six months. On April 24, spot ETFs added about $14.45 million, extending a multi-day inflow run to roughly $2.1 billion, according to aggregated flow data.

Market participants said part of the ETF demand likely came from cash-and-carry strategies in which institutions buy spot ETF shares while shorting CME bitcoin futures to capture price spreads. That approach nets exposure to the spread rather than taking a direct long position in bitcoin.

On-chain metrics showed weaker activity. CryptoQuant reported its apparent demand measure remained in contraction throughout April and noted, “price gains are speculative rather than structural.” The reading pointed to limited organic spot buying on blockchain wallets even as ETF allocations increased.

Orkun Kilic, co-founder and CEO of Chainway Labs, commented, “ETF inflows and on-chain demand measure different aspects of bitcoin’s development.” Illia Otychenko, lead analyst at CEX.IO, cautioned, “Institutional interest is rising, but not all of it reflects long-term conviction.”

Geopolitical events added market uncertainty. The extended conflict involving Israel and Iran coincided with U.S. involvement, and the United Arab Emirates left OPEC after 59 years. Oil prices rose in April, with Brent around $120 per barrel and U.S. WTI near $110. Senior U.S. military officials briefed the president on potential options regarding Iran, including targeted strikes, operations around the Strait of Hormuz and special forces actions.

Despite ETF inflows and corporate accumulation, on-chain demand measures stayed weak at month-end, creating a divergence between flows on regulated markets and wallet-level activity.