Bitcoin Sidelined as Hormuz Tensions, AI Hype Dominate Markets — ETF Outflows Hit $1.15B This Week

Bitcoin is losing the macro attention war. While positive regulatory progress on the Clarity Act offered a constructive domestic backdrop, the broader market is running on a different fuel: geopolitics around the Strait of Hormuz is driving oil near $100, stoking inflation fears, lifting bond yields, and pulling speculative capital into commodities like copper. Crypto is not at the center of this repricing — and the flow data shows it.

U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs bled $1.15 billion in outflows this week, following $1 billion the prior week, according to SoSoValue. The Coinbase premium — a key gauge of domestic U.S. demand relative to global demand — has fallen to monthly lows. Analysts have been consistent: both indicators need a marked turn before a sustained rally can take hold.

Meanwhile, pockets of the crypto market are finding their own narratives. Near Protocol's NEAR token surged…