U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds attracted a combined $1.20bn during the trading week ending 4 September, with Bitcoin products accounting for more than 80% of the total.
Bitcoin ETFs recorded $986.7m in weekly net inflows, while Ethereum ETFs brought in a further $215.3m. However, demand for Ethereum products fell sharply compared with the previous week.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin funds were the biggest beneficiaries, taking in $691.5m across the five trading sessions. The strongest combined daily inflows came on 3 September, when cryptocurrency prices recovered.
Bitcoin ETF inflows approach $1bn
Data from Farside Investors showed that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs received $986.7m between 31 August and 4 September. That was an increase of about 6.7% from the $924.5m attracted during the previous five trading sessions.
The funds began the week with $216.7m in net inflows on 31 August. That was followed by $236.5m in withdrawals on 1 September, before investor demand returned over the next three sessions.
The Bitcoin ETFs recorded inflows of $101.1m on 2 September, $730.8m on 3 September and $174.6m on 4 September. The 3 September figure represented roughly 74% of the entire weekly total.
BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin products received $454m on that day. ARK Invest and 21Shares’ ARKB attracted $137.7m, while Fidelity’s FBTC and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust recorded inflows of $74.4m and $48.8m respectively.
Across the full week, BlackRock’s products led the market with net inflows of about $691.5m. ARKB was next with $137.7m, while Fidelity’s fund added $94.8m.
Bitwise’s BITB received $41.7m during the period. VanEck’s HODL recorded approximately $33m in net withdrawals, while Grayscale’s converted GBTC fund posted a modest $18.6m inflow.
The five-day performance took cumulative net inflows across the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market to approximately $55.69bn, according to Farside’s data.
Ethereum ETF demand falls from previous week
U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs posted net inflows of $215.3m during the same period. Although the funds remained in positive territory, the weekly total was about 73.6% lower than the $815.7m received in the previous week.
Ethereum products opened the period with an $87.6m inflow on 31 August and added another $8.6m on 1 September. They then recorded $48.2m in net outflows on 2 September, before attracting $141.4m on 3 September and $25.9m on 4 September.
BlackRock’s ETHA brought in $136.4m during the week, while its staked Ethereum product ETHB added $81.8m. Together, the two BlackRock funds received $218.2m, slightly more than the overall category total once withdrawals from competing products were taken into account.
Fidelity’s FETH finished the week with net inflows of only $4.7m. It attracted $65.1m on 3 September but lost $48.3m during the following session.
Grayscale’s higher-fee ETHE recorded $37m in weekly net outflows. Those withdrawals were partly offset by $17.1m in inflows into Grayscale’s lower-cost Ethereum Mini Trust.
Cumulative net inflows into U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs reached approximately $13.19bn by the end of the week.
Crypto funds move against wider U.S. market
The combined $1.20bn inflow into Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs came as investors adopted a more cautious approach to conventional U.S. investment funds.
According to LSEG Lipper data reported by Reuters, investors withdrew $11.12bn from U.S. equity funds during the week ending 2 September. Large-cap funds accounted for $7.52bn of those withdrawals, while money market funds attracted $48.76bn.
Reuters linked the wider caution to rising bond yields, higher oil prices and tensions in the Middle East. Those conditions weighed on risk assets earlier in the week.
Sentiment improved on 3 September after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller said he could support keeping interest rates unchanged if inflation continued to ease. Bitcoin and Ethereum funds collectively attracted about $872.2m that day, while Bitcoin climbed above $81,000 and Ethereum moved back towards $2,500.
The later reversal showed that ETF inflows had not removed short-term macroeconomic risks. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading near $79,664, down about 1.8% over the latest session. Ethereum was around $2,458 after falling 2.8%.
U.S. data keeps interest rates in focus
The next major test for ETF demand may come from changing expectations around U.S. interest rates.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in August, while the unemployment rate stayed at 4.1%. The stronger labour-market data reduced some of the optimism generated by Waller’s comments, as a resilient economy could give the Federal Reserve more scope to keep borrowing costs elevated.
Investors will next turn to the U.S. consumer price index report on 11 September and the Federal Reserve’s policy decision on 16 September.
Further evidence of persistent inflation could put pressure on cryptocurrency prices and ETF demand. Softer inflation, by contrast, would support the case for stable or lower interest rates.
Despite those risks, the weekly figures showed that U.S. investors remained net buyers of both major cryptocurrency ETF categories. Bitcoin products maintained the momentum built during the previous week, while Ethereum funds remained positive despite the sharp slowdown in their weekly inflows.
