Bitcoin ETFs See $39.4M in Inflows; Ether ETFs Face Fifth Day of Outflows

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have recorded substantial inflows, seeing their third consecutive day of growth, while spot Ether ETFs continue to experience outflows, extending a five-day negative trend. 

As per the report from SoSoValue, the 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced net inflows of $39.42 million on August 21. This is a decrease from the $88.06 million in inflows reported on August 20. Grayscale’s mini Bitcoin trust led the pack with inflows of $14.2 million after a three-day pause in activity. Fidelity’s FBTC and Bitwise’s BITB followed closely with inflows of $10.7 million and $10 million, respectively.

BlackRock Dominates Bitcoin ETF Inflows

According to SoSoValue, BlackRock’s IBIT, the top spot Bitcoin ETF in terms of net assets, attracted $8.4 million in inflows that day, bringing its total inflows to date to a staggering $20.5 billion. Other funds like Invesco Galaxy’s BTCO and Franklin Templeton’s EZBC reported smaller gains of $2.5 million and $3.5 million, respectively. 

These inflows were somewhat tempered by Grayscale’s GBTC, which saw outflows of $9.8 million, cumulatively reaching $19.6 billion in outflows since its launch. The other five Bitcoin ETFs held steady with no notable changes.

Trading volume for Bitcoin ETFs surged to $1.42 billion on August 21, compared to $1.35 billion on the previous day. Overall, these funds have amassed a total net inflow of $17.56 billion since their inception. As of the latest data, Bitcoin (BTC) had increased by 1.8% over the last day, trading at $60,788, according to crypto.news.

Growing Institutional Interest in Bitcoin

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Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan emphasised that while many retail investors effectively spearheaded the interest in Bitcoin ETFs, institutional players accounted for a large portion of such flows. Furthermore, as the market volatility and decreasing BTC price suggest, institutional investors’ share of the U. S. spot Bitcoin ETFs increased to 24% by the end of Q2 of 2024. Some of the major holding organisations which are stated to own ETF shares include Goldman Sachs with $ 412 million and Morgan Stanley with $ 188 million.

However, the nine spot Ethereum ETFs saw a net outflow that reached $17.97 million on August 21, marking their fifth consecutive daily loss. Consequently, Grayscale’s ETHE was at the forefront of this outflow, losing $31.1 million and bringing its total outflows to $2.5 billion since its launch on July 23. Fidelity’s FETH, Grayscale’s ETH, and Franklin Templeton’s EZET alone registered an inflow of $7.9 million, $4.2 million, and $1 million, respectively, while the remaining five ETH ETFs saw no activity.

Institutional Holdings in Bitcoin ETFs Climb to 24%

Despite the declining prices of bitcoin, institutional demand for U. S. spot Bitcoin ETFs soared in the last quarter. According to analysts from H.C. Wainwright, institutional participation in these ETFs increased to 24% at the close of the second quarter of 2024, up from 21.4% in the previous quarter. This data was compiled from newly released 13-F filings and aggregated by Coinbase.

This rise in institutional ownership occured when there was a decline in the overall market assets amount for these ETFs fell by 13% to $51.8 billion, of which the decrease was mostly linked to the decrease in Bitcoin prices.

Despite the ongoing market challenges, spot Bitcoin ETFs showed resilience with $2.4 billion in net inflows during the quarter, indicating an interest from institutional investors in the cryptocurrency sector.