Bitcoin ETF Inflows Plummet After Record Week
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a dramatic slowdown in inflows this week, taking in a provisional $82.9 million for the week ended October 2, a stark contrast to the $2.39 billion inflow the week before. Spot Ether ETFs also experienced a reversal, shifting from nearly $690 million in inflows to roughly $118 million in withdrawals. The totals are not yet final, as Farside Investors has not reported Friday's flow figures for BlackRock’s IBIT and Ether ETFs, which could alter the weekly numbers once added.
The week started positively for Bitcoin ETFs, with $31 million in inflows on Monday and $66.2 million on Tuesday. However, the trend reversed sharply on Wednesday, with investors withdrawing $148.7 million. Thursday saw a rebound with $102.7 million in inflows, but the provisional weekly total remains $82.9 million. BlackRock’s IBIT was a notable outlier, attracting $292 million from Monday through Thursday, while other Bitcoin ETFs were net sellers by roughly $240.8 million over the same period.
Ether ETFs experienced an even more dramatic reversal, going from $689.8 million in inflows the previous week to a net outflow of $118 million this week. The week opened with $17.1 million in inflows on Monday but quickly turned negative, with withdrawals of $2.8 million on Tuesday, $59.6 million on Wednesday, and $55.4 million on Thursday. Friday's provisional data showed another $17.3 million withdrawal, though BlackRock’s missing Friday figures could still impact the final result.
Despite a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report on Friday, which reduced expectations of a Federal Reserve rate hike in October, crypto ETF demand did not see a significant boost. The report showed only 29,000 nonfarm payrolls added in September, with unemployment rising to 4.2%. While this should theoretically improve liquidity conditions for assets like Bitcoin, the ETF inflows remained modest, with only $31.7 million in Bitcoin inflows and $17.3 million in Ether outflows reported for Friday.