Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs See Muted Flows as October Turns Bearish

• Bitcoin ETFs command $56.68 billion in net assets or 4.74% of BTC’s market cap.
• BlackRock’s BTC and ETH ETFs have combined cumulative inflows of $22.9 billion.
• Ethereum ETFs hold $6.62 billion in net assets or 2.33% of ETH’s market cap.

U.S. spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have seemingly lost their momentum as funds run negative, though mostly neutral

Bitcoin ETFs

As per SoSoValue, Bitcoin ETFs posted meager outflows  of $30.59 million on Oct. 9, 2024.

The sole gainer for the day was BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which pulled $13.88 million in inflows. This now raises IBIT’s cumulative net inflow to a staggering $21.71 billion.

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) was the sole loser, shedding $44.47 million in outflows. ARKB has seen $2.48 billion in cumulative net inflows, ranking it third amongst its competitors.

The Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) has yet to update its market data.

After a wildly successful run of inflows from the middle of September, which drew almost $2 billion across three weeks, and a rather sturdy start to October, BTC ETFs may now be entering another cooldown period.

Ethereum ETFs

Similarly, SoSoValue data shows that all funds  ran completely neutral on Oct. 9, 2024.

Ethereum ETFs have posted their fourth-ever day of neutral flows and their second within the same week. Despite the total value traded standing at a modest $128.29 million, not a single fund has seen flows in either direction.

Interestingly, Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust (ETHE) and Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH) combined captured $85.54 million of the day’s trading volumes. Yet, neither fund saw outflows, as has been the trend for Grayscale crypto ETFs.

Flow data for Bitwise’s Ethereum ETF (ETHW) have not yet been updated.

ETH Underperforms

Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs are now a major dynamic in the crypto markets.

However, there is plenty of debate as to whether or not they directly or indirectly affect the price of Bitcoin or Ethereum. The launch of BTC ETFs came in tandem with a huge boost to BTC’s price, so it’s not pure coincidence.

The boost in liquidity, adoption, and exposure certainly helped drive BTC up, but the same hasn’t occurred with ETH, which has underperformed this year despite undergoing a significant update and launching spot ETFs in July this year.

Bitcoin has more or less recovered from its sub-$60,000 lows following the market dip in August, yet ETH is struggling to recover. This isn’t for any one reason in particular. Optimistically, investors may soon begin to rally around ETH ETFs and reignite confidence in Ethereum. However, there’s no way of telling if or when that will come to pass.