Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs attract $1.2 billion in weekly inflows

Bitcoin and Ethereum Spot ETF Weekly Net Inflows Reach US$1.2 billion

During the trading week ending September 4, U.S. Spot Bitcoin and Ethereum Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) attracted a total of US$1.2 billion in net inflows. Among them, bitcoin-related products accounted for more than 80% of the total inflow.

Bitcoin ETF approaches the US$1 billion mark

According to data from Farside Investors, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF recorded a net subscription of US$986.7 million between August 31 and September 4. This week's increase was approximately 6.7%, compared with the previous week's increase of $924.5 million over five trading days.

At the beginning of the week, the Bitcoin ETF received a net inflow of $216.7 million on August 31, but there was a net outflow of $236.5 million on September 1. Demand rebounded in the following three trading days, recording net inflows of US$101.1 million, US$730.8 million and US$174.6 million respectively. Among them, the inflow on September 3 accounted for about 74% of the entire week's total, and the price of cryptocurrency rebounded that day.

BlackRock's spot bitcoin product attracted $454 million in funding that day, and ARK Invest's ARKB partnership with 21Shares increased by $137.7 million. Fidelity's FBTC and Grayscale's Bitcoin mini trust recorded inflows of $74.4 million and $48.8 million, respectively.

Throughout the week, BlackRock's products led the way with net subscriptions of approximately $691.5 million, followed by ARKB with $137.7 million, and Fidelity Funds increased $94.8 million. Bitwise's BitB received $41.7 million during this period. VanEck's HODL saw a net redemption of approximately $33 million, while the gray converted GBTC fund only recorded a modest inflow of $18.6 million.

According to Farside data, the five-day results brought cumulative net subscriptions in the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market to approximately US$55.69 billion.

Demand for Ethereum ETF slowed down from the previous week

Farside data showed that during the same period, the U.S. spot Ethereum ETF recorded net subscriptions of US$215.3 million. Although funds remained net inflows, they were down significantly by approximately 73.6% from the previous week's inflow of US$815.7 million.

Ethereum products started the cycle with an inflow of $87.6 million on August 31 and added another $8.6 million on September 1. A net outflow of $48.2 million was then recorded on September 2, followed by $141.4 million on September 3, and another $25.9 million on September 4.

BlackRock's ETHA brought in $136.4 million in inflows this week, and its pledged Ethereum product ETHB increased by $81.8 million. As a result, the two BlackRock funds received a combined funding of $218.2 million, slightly above the total net subscriptions of the category after deducting redemptions of competitor products.

Fidelity's FETH ended the week with a net subscription of just $4.7 million. The fund attracted $65.1 million on September 3, but lost $48.3 million on the subsequent trading day. Gray's high-rate ETHE recorded a weekly net outflow of $37 million, while Gray's low-cost Ethereum mini trust partially offset these redemptions, recording an inflow of $17.1 million.

As of the weekend, the cumulative net subscription amount of the U.S. spot Ethereum ETF reached approximately US$13.19 billion.

Crypto ETF capital flows diverge from U.S. traditional funds

The combined net inflow of Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs of US$1.2 billion occurred amid a cautious period for U.S. traditional investment funds. According to LSEG Lipper data reported by Reuters, investors withdrew $11.12 billion from U.S. equity funds in the week ended September 2. Among them, large-cap funds accounted for US$7.52 billion of total divestments, while money market funds attracted US$48.76 billion.

Reuters attributed the widespread caution to rising bond yields, high oil prices and tensions in the Middle East. Those factors put pressure on risky assets early in the week, but market sentiment improved on September 3 as Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he might support keeping interest rates unchanged if inflation continued to moderate.

This shift coincided with the largest single-day crypto ETF inflow of the week. On September 3, Bitcoin and Ethereum funds together attracted approximately $872.2 million, when Bitcoin climbed above $81,000 and Ethereum also moved closer to $2,500.

The subsequent market reversal showed that the inflow of funds from ETFs did not eliminate short-term macro risks. As of press time, Bitcoin was trading at approximately US$79,664, down approximately 1.8% from the latest trading day; Ethereum was trading at approximately US$2,458, down 2.8%.

U.S. data continues to focus on interest rate expectations

The next test for ETF demand may come from changes in U.S. interest rate expectations. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that non-farm payrolls increased by 162,000 in August, and the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%. Strong economic data undercut some of the optimism generated by Waller's comments, as economic resilience could give the Fed more room to maintain higher borrowing costs.

Investors will now focus on the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on September 11 and the Federal Reserve's policy decision on September 16. Further evidence that inflation is persistent could put pressure on cryptocurrency prices and ETF demand, while moderate inflation would support the case for stabilizing or lowering interest rates.

Despite these risks, this week's data showed that U.S. investors remain net buyers of the two major cryptocurrency ETF categories. Bitcoin products maintained the momentum of the previous week, while Ethereum funds remained positive even as weekly inflows slowed.