Bitcoin ETFs Stage Friday Comeback Amidst Volatile Macro Week
New York, NY – In what was anticipated to be a pivotal week for cryptocurrency markets, investor behavior surrounding exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for the two largest digital assets by market capitalization presented a mixed picture. While spot Bitcoin ETFs ultimately reversed earlier outflows to end the week positively, their Ethereum counterparts saw an impressive streak of inflows come to an abrupt halt.
Bitcoin ETFs Navigate Economic Headwinds
The business week commenced on a positive note for spot Bitcoin ETFs, which saw inflows of over $160 million on Monday. However, Tuesday brought the first significant challenge as the CLARITY Act faced a vote in the U.S. Senate. The outcome proved unfavorable for the cryptocurrency industry, prompting investors to withdraw $450.33 million from the funds – the largest daily net outflow recorded since late June.
All eyes then turned to the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, as the U.S. central bank implemented its first interest rate hike in over three years. This development led to another substantial withdrawal, with $296 million leaving the ETFs. The landscape showed a slight improvement on Thursday, with net inflows reported by SoSoData to be just under $160 million.
Friday proved to be a turning point. The day’s net inflows surged to a two-week high of $433.03 million. This significant influx had a dual effect: it pushed the ETF week into positive territory with a net gain of $6.21 million, and it coincided with a substantial rally in Bitcoin’s price, which climbed from around $76,000 early in the day to over $80,000 by its close.
Ethereum ETFs Face Inflow Reversal
Spot Ethereum ETFs had enjoyed a strong performance over the preceding months, with cumulative net inflows soaring from under $10.9 billion to nearly $13.4 billion. During this period, only one of the past ten business weeks registered outflows, and that was a modest $2.26 million in the second full week of August.
However, this robust trend reversed last week, as $140 million departed the Ethereum ETFs. While Monday ($121.02 million) and Friday ($143.80 million) saw positive inflows, they were insufficient to offset the outflows from the other three trading days: $141.47 million on Tuesday, $224.11 million on Wednesday, and $39.24 million on Thursday.
Despite the ETF outflows, Ether’s price managed to break past $2,600 on Friday and Saturday. However, recent developments in the Middle East have since tempered its advance, leaving it hovering just below that mark.
