Weekly Inflows of $1.2 Billion Pour into Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs

During the trading week ending September 4, U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds saw a combined influx of $1.20 billion, with Bitcoin products contributing over 80% of this amount.

Bitcoin ETF inflows near $1 billion mark

Data from Farside Investors indicates that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of $986.7 million from August 31 to September 4. This weekly figure marked a 6.7% rise from the $924.5 million recorded in the prior five sessions.

The week commenced with $216.7 million of net inflows on August 31, but this was followed by $236.5 million in withdrawals on September 1. However, demand recovered over the next three days with inflows of $101.1 million, $730.8 million, and $174.6 million.

September 3 alone accounted for approximately 74% of the total weekly inflow. On that day, BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin products drew in $454 million, ARK Invest and 21Shares’ ARKB attracted $137.7 million, and Fidelity’s FBTC and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust brought in $74.4 million and $48.8 million, respectively.

Throughout the week, BlackRock’s offerings led the way with about $691.5 million in net inflows, followed by ARKB with $137.7 million and Fidelity’s fund with $94.8 million.

Bitwise’s BITB received $41.7 million during this timeframe. In contrast, VanEck’s HODL saw approximately $33 million in net withdrawals, and Grayscale’s converted GBTC fund reported a modest inflow of $18.6 million.

This five-day performance brought cumulative net inflows in the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market to around $55.69 billion, according to Farside’s data.

Ethereum ETF interest declines compared to prior week

According to Farside data, U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded net inflows of $215.3 million during the same timeframe. Despite remaining net positive, this marked a significant decline of approximately 73.6% from the previous week’s inflow of $815.7 million.

Ethereum funds began the week with an inflow of $87.6 million on August 31, followed by another $8.6 million on September 1. However, they experienced net outflows of $48.2 million on September 2, before recovering with inflows of $141.4 million on September 3 and $25.9 million on September 4.

BlackRock’s ETHA contributed $136.4 million during the week, while its staked Ethereum product ETHB brought in $81.8 million. Together, these two funds totaled $218.2 million, slightly surpassing the category’s total net inflow when considering withdrawals from competing products.

Fidelity’s FETH ended the week with only $4.7 million in net inflows. The fund attracted $65.1 million on September 3 but experienced losses of $48.3 million the next session.

Grayscale’s more expensive ETHE recorded $37 million in net outflows, though Grayscale’s lower-cost Ethereum Mini Trust partially mitigated these losses with $17.1 million in inflows.

Cumulative net inflows for U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs reached approximately $13.19 billion by week’s end.

Crypto ETF inflows contrast with broader U.S. funds

The combined inflow of $1.20 billion into Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs occurred during a week of caution for traditional U.S. investment funds.

According to LSEG Lipper data reported by Reuters, U.S. equity funds faced withdrawals of $11.12 billion for the week ending September 2. Large-cap funds represented $7.52 billion of that withdrawal amount, while money market funds gathered $48.76 billion in inflows.

Reuters pointed to rising bond yields, soaring oil prices, and Middle Eastern tensions as contributing factors to the cautious sentiment. However, on September 3, following comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller suggesting he could support maintaining interest rates if inflation continued to decrease, sentiment improved.

This shift coincided with the largest daily inflows into crypto ETFs that week, with Bitcoin and Ethereum funds drawing about $872.2 million on September 3, as Bitcoin surpassed $81,000 and Ethereum approached $2,500.

Despite this, the subsequent market reversal indicated that ETF inflows did not alleviate short-term macro risks. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was priced around $79,664, reflecting a decline of about 1.8% over the latest session, while Ethereum was trading near $2,458 after a decrease of 2.8%.

U.S. data continues to influence rate expectations

The upcoming changes in U.S. interest rate expectations may further test ETF demand. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a 162,000 increase in nonfarm payrolls in August, with the unemployment rate steady at 4.1%.

This robust labor data somewhat tempered the optimism stemming from Waller’s remarks, as a consistently strong economy could enable the Federal Reserve to maintain higher borrowing costs.

Now, investors will be looking to the U.S. consumer price index report on September 11 and the Federal Reserve’s policy decision on September 16. Persistent inflation could pressure both crypto prices and ETF demand, whereas softer inflation may support the case for stable or reduced interest rates.

Notwithstanding these risks, the weekly figures suggest that U.S. investors continued to be net buyers in both major crypto ETF categories. Bitcoin products sustained their momentum from the previous week, while Ethereum funds remained positive despite a slowdown in their weekly intake.