BlackRock Swept Up $120 Million in Bitcoin…Ethereum Saw the Opposite Trend

▲ BlackRock, Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH)/AI-generated image ©

While BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, increased its Bitcoin (BTC) exposure by over $120 million in a week amidst market volatility, funds flowed out of Ethereum (ETH) ETFs, showing a clear difference in institutional demand. Even as Bitcoin wavered due to rising US Treasury yields, inflation concerns, and the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate hikes, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) recorded net inflows on a weekly basis.

According to crypto media outlet Finbold on September 19 (local time), BlackRock's IBIT recorded net inflows of approximately $120.6 million from September 14 to 18. After $134.3 million flowed in on the 14th, it turned to net outflows on the 15th and 16th. However, inflows of $183.7 million and $108.4 million on the last two trading days, the 17th and 18th respectively, reversed the overall weekly trend to net inflows. During the same period, Bitcoin overcame the impact of previous ETF outflows, surpassing $80,500 on the 18th.

Looking at US spot Bitcoin ETFs as a whole, fund flows fluctuated even more dramatically. On the 14th, $160 million saw net inflows, but on the 15th and 16th, there were net outflows of $450.3 million and $296 million, respectively. Subsequently, as investor sentiment recovered, $159.5 million flowed back in on the 17th, and $433 million on the 18th. On the last trading day, a resurgence in demand across various products, including Fidelity, led to overall net inflows.

Since their launch in January 2024, spot Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated approximately $54.7 billion in net inflows, with assets under management reaching about $96.2 billion. While September saw more days with net outflows than net inflows, strong buying pressure on some trading days largely offset the selling pressure. Notably, over $730 million flowed in on September 3 alone. In early September, approximately $987 million flowed in on a weekly basis, and the cumulative inflows over several weeks exceeded $3.8 billion.

Conversely, BlackRock's spot Ethereum ETFs showed the opposite trend. Over the same five trading days, approximately $49.1 million combined flowed out of BlackRock's ETHA and ETHB. This result contrasts with the $120.6 million in net inflows for Bitcoin products, indicating that institutional demand for Bitcoin was relatively stronger than for Ethereum in the recently regulated ETF market, according to media analysis.

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