Bitcoin ETF sees outflows for second day…Are institutional funds moving to Ethereum?

▲ Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) ETF ©CoinReaders

Amid warnings about institutional demand as funds flowed out of Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETFs for two consecutive days, Ethereum (ETH) spot ETFs showed a contrasting trend, recording net inflows, particularly in staking products. US Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded a net outflow of $120.2 million on September 9th, following $46.6 million the previous day, marking the first time since mid-August that funds have exited for two consecutive days. In contrast, Ethereum spot ETFs saw a net inflow of $34.75 million on the same day.

According to investment media TradingNews on September 10 (local time), the net outflow from Bitcoin spot ETFs on September 9 was led by Ark 21Shares' ARKB. ARKB saw an outflow of $77.98 million, accounting for approximately 65% of the total net outflow, and BlackRock's IBIT also saw an exit of $19.53 million. Morgan Stanley's MSBT was the only product to record a net inflow of $4.49 million. However, expanding the scope to the last seven days shows a net inflow of approximately $820 million, and the cumulative net inflow for the first six trading days of September also stands at around $603 million.

Flows over different periods show further divergence. In the three weeks leading up to September 4, Bitcoin spot ETFs saw an inflow of $3.8 billion, marking the strongest three consecutive weeks of inflows this year, and the net inflow in August, at approximately $3.52 billion, was the highest since September 2025. However, for the entirety of 2026, there is a net outflow of approximately $1.07 billion. The proportion of trading days with net outflows among all trading days this year has also risen to 54%, higher than 31% in 2024 and 40% in 2025. TradingNews assessed that despite the recent strong inflows, ETFs have shifted from being a one-sided institutional buying base to a structure where buying and selling repeat according to market conditions.

A high dependency on BlackRock's IBIT was particularly identified as a variable. IBIT absorbed $3.575 billion over the past 30 days, accounting for $691.5 million, or 70%, of the total net inflow of $986.9 million for the week ending September 4. On September 3, $454 million of the total $730.9 million was concentrated in IBIT. The total net assets of Bitcoin spot ETFs are $101.3 billion, which is approximately 6.6% of Bitcoin's market capitalization. TradingNews cited the risk that if major investors in IBIT reduce their exposure, the market's ETF buying base could be significantly weakened.

In contrast, Ethereum spot ETFs showed a different direction in the same macroeconomic environment. On September 9, $34.75 million flowed in, with BlackRock's staking-supported product ETHB accounting for $22.94 million of this. From August 17 to 28, the net inflow for nine consecutive trading days reached $1.42 billion, and $218.4 million also flowed in during the week up to September 4. The media noted the difference that staked Ethereum can generate its own yield of 3-5%, whereas Bitcoin does not generate yield. This structural difference is influencing fund flows in an environment where the US 10-year Treasury yield has risen to 4.90%.

The future direction of ETF flows is expected to depend on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate decisions. The market is pricing in a 62-64% chance of an interest rate hike on September 15-16, and TradingNews predicted that if core CPI falls below 2.3%, ETF inflows are likely to resume. Conversely, if it exceeds 2.6%, net outflows could continue, pushing Bitcoin below $77,000 towards $74,000. The media presented a weekly ETF net inflow of $300 million as a key benchmark, analyzing that if flows remain above this level, the possibility of retesting $82,000 remains, but below it, the $77,000 support could weaken.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*