Bitcoin ETFs Bleed $342M—15-Day Inflow Streak Crashes to a Halt
Wall Street's crypto cash spigot just got a hard twist. Bitcoin ETFs—the darlings of institutional investors—saw $342 million vanish in a single day, snapping a 15-day inflow streak like a cheap rubber band.
The reversal hits as traders pivot to risk-off mode—or maybe just remembered crypto winter exists. Either way, the 'easy money' phase might be over.
Funny how fast the herd changes direction when the first whiff of volatility appears. Almost like these funds were designed to separate weak hands from their capital.
“A rest stop”
Meanwhile, market analysts cautioned against reading too much into a single day's flows, calling it “just a rest stop.”
"After almost $5 billion went into spot Bitcoin ETFs, it's no surprise that some investors are taking a step back to think things through, especially with the Fed hinting at holding off on rate cuts for a bit longer,” Shawn Young, chief analyst at crypto exchange MEXC, told Decrypt.
Tuesday's selling hit multiple funds with Bitwise's BITB posting $23 million in outflows alongside $27 million from ARK 21Shares' ARKB.
BlackRock's IBIT, which dominated the prior inflow streak with $3.8 billion or 81% of total flows, registered flat activity alongside four other major Bitcoin ETFs.
Bitcoin itself weathered the ETF turbulence, dropping a modest 1.3% to $105,859 in the 24 hours following Powell's remarks.
The world’s largest crypto has since recovered, trading at $107,822, up 1.3% in the last 24 hours, per data from CoinGecko.
Young attributed the “short-term outflows” to broader macro conditions, saying "higher rates for longer" naturally curb demand for riskier assets like Bitcoin.
Still, ethereum ETFs posted positive inflows Tuesday, suggesting "that institutional investors aren't backing out, but are just being selective and positioning carefully based on overall market signals," Young told Decrypt.
"One day of out-of-the-ordinary trading in the ETF market doesn't negate billions of dollars that have already come in,” the analyst said.
