Crypto Markets Stumble as Trump’s Tariff Talk Sparks Sell-Off
Bitcoin and Ethereum take a hit as political uncertainty rattles traders—because nothing says ’stable store of value’ like knee-jerk reactions to headline noise.
Market jitters return just as institutional investors were getting comfortable. Classic crypto volatility meets classic political theater.
Meanwhile, Wall Street bankers adjust their yachts’ course to avoid splashes from the sell-off—priorities, people.
Bitcoin ETF flows turn negative
Alongside the appeals court intervention, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs ended a 10-day streak of net inflows that had brought in $4.26 billion.
On Thursday, the 11 funds saw almost $347 million in net outflows, the worst single-day exit since March 11, per Coinglass data.
Fidelity’s FBTC recorded the largest net outflow at $166.3 million, followed by GBTC (with $107.5 million outflows) and ARKB ($89.2 million).
Jin argued that the major spot Bitcoin ETF outflows "should not be perceived as a panic event, but rather an institutional repricing happening in the real-time."
Only BlackRock’s IBIT posted an inflow on Thursday, adding $125 million to extend its streak to 34 consecutive trading days. IBIT has now pulled in nearly $4 billion over the past two weeks, per data from Farside Investors.
"The important thing to see this dip is in the context of the broader economy," Ganesh Mahidhar, investment professional at Further Ventures, told Decrypt, adding that, "ETF flows are primarily funded by retail, and this is a reflection of the retail sentiment."
Mahidhar said policy uncertainty was dampening capital flows into risk assets but added that the outlook could shift quickly if clarity returns.
The analyst expects the sentiment to recover once trade tensions stabilize, noting that, “there is expectation among firms for this debate to settle soon around an equilibrium of either low tariffs or no tariffs, looking at a reasonable uptick in asset prices in the medium term.”
