Bitcoin ETFs Attract $1.2B as Crypto Prices Surge
Ethereum funds see mixed results amid market rally.
Spot bitcoin ETFs have generated $1.2 billion in net inflows over the past three trading days, as the price of the funds' underlying asset rose to its highest level since July.
The 11 ETFs, which began trading earlier this year, netted a whopping $556 million in inflows on Monday and an additional $371 million on Tuesday, according to U.K.-based asset manager Farside Investors. The funds have totaled about $19.8 billion in inflows since their debut.
“Bitcoin has been moving up alongside other risk assets in recent sessions,” said Sumit Roy, senior ETF analyst at etf.com. “Some people see value in the cryptocurrency, with the Nasdaq near records and bitcoin still around 10% off its highs.”
The strong inflows come as the price of bitcoin climbed as high as $68,970 over the past 24 hours. The largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization is up nearly 10% over the past week, amid rising investor optimism that U.S. central bank interest rate cuts may increase liquidity in markets, and an uptick in the prospects of Donald Trump, the favored presidential candidate of the digital asset industry.
The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) led the pack with $391.4 million in inflows over the three-day period, narrowly outpacing BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) at $368.3 million.
The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) received net inflows of $182.1 million and $139.7 million, respectively, according to Farside data.
Even the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC), which has experienced consistent outflows since its conversion, recorded positive inflows of $23.7 million over the three days. This marks a rare positive stretch for the fund, which has shed more than $20 billion in assets since its early January start. The fund differs from the other ETFs in the category because it is a conversion from a closed fund and carries the highest expense ratio, 1.5%.
“For many investors, ETFs have become the preferred vehicle for getting exposure to bitcoin, so it's not surprising to see these inflows in that context,” Roy said.
Ethereum Funds Face Challenges
While Bitcoin-based products enjoyed substantial inflows, spot Ethereum funds' results were far more muted. Ethereum ETFs, which track the price of the blockchain protocol's ether token, generated net inflows of $4.2 million, despite $24 million in outflows from the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), according to Farside data.
The iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) led Ethereum fund inflows with $14.3 million, while the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) attracted $12.5 million.
Year-to-date, Ethereum ETFs have totaled net outflows of $541.8 million, with ETHE accounting for nearly $3 billion in outflows. ETHE is also a converted fund with a high fee, 2.5%.
