Bitcoin ETFs See $400 Million Outflow as US Inflation Concerns Loom

Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a $400 million outflow on Thursday following a 6-day streak that saw the funds take in more than $4.7 billion as BTC notched several new all-time highs.

The outflows were uneven—as if often the case. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) took in $125 million and the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (HODL) saw $2.5 million on Thursday, according to CoinGlass data.

Meanwhile every other fund in the category, including the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC), saw a combined outflow of $530 million.

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price appears to have been rangebound and has been trading sideways since rising as high as $93,477.11 on Wednesday—the first time it’s ever risen above $93,000.

But then it’s been stuck trading at or slightly below $90,000 since then. In fact, when the Bitcoin price sank after meeting resistance yesterday, it led to the liquidation of $444 million worth of derivatives contracts that were betting on BTC climbing higher.

The Bitcoin price has not been helped by new economic data in the U.S. that earlier this week threw cold water on hopes that the Federal Reserve would end the year by lowering interest rates again.

In fact, the number of investors that think the next Federal Open Markets Committee meeting will end in the regulators keeping interest rates the same jumped up this week, noted BRN analyst Valentin Fournier.

“Although the figures met investor expectations, it remains a challenging signal for the Federal Reserve. This data complicates the Fed’s plan to cut interest rates for the third time in December,” he wrote in a note shared with Decrypt. “CME data shows that investor expectations for rates to remain unchanged have risen to 40%, up from 25% before the release of the inflation reports.”

Already the CME FedWatch Tool shows that the portion of investors who expect the FOMC to keep interest rates the same in December has ticked up to 41.3%.

But even with the pullback of institutional funds from Bitcoin ETFs and so-so news from U.S. agencies about inflation, BRN remains confident that BTC could reach $100,000 in the coming months.

“Although a short-term dip is possible, we expect investors to view this as an attractive entry opportunity, injecting new liquidity,” Fournier wrote. “The strong catalyst of Trump’s election will keep having a very positive impact, especially during Q1 2025, when his first moves as president could generate a very strong momentum for a lasting bull market.”