Bitcoin, Ethereum ETF Weekly Recap: Substantial Outflows Amid Pessimistic US Economy Outlook

The second week of trading for the spot Ethereum ETFs saw again more withdrawals than inflows, perhaps driven by the uncertainty in the US economy.

The spot Bitcoin ETFs also closed the business week on the wrong foot, with nearly $240 million leaving the financial vehicles.

Data from FarSide shows that Fidelity’s FBTC was the biggest loser on August 2 in terms of daily outflows. More than $104 million was withdrawn from it as its total AUM has declined to $9.8 billion.

Ark Invest’s ARKB followed suit with $87.7 million in outflows, while Grayscale’s GBTC was in third spot with $45.9 million. BITB and HODL were also in the red, with $29.4 million and $23 million, respectively.

In contrast, BlackRock’s IBIT was the only one that saw inflows of just under $43 million. Its total AUM has grown to almost $21 billion.

Overall, the week was in the red as the total withdrawals from all spot BTC ETFs were north of $80 million.

On the spot Ethereum ETF front, Grayscale’s ETHE led the pack once again with $61.4 million in outflows. Minor inflows entered Fidelity’s FETH ($6 million) and Franklin’s EZET (1.1 million), but there were nowhere near ETHE’s outflows and couldn’t make up the difference.

The weekly scale for the ETH ETFs was even more painful as the numbers for the past five trading days showcased substantial withdrawals of almost $170 million.

All of this came amid Friday’s weak job report in the States, which showed worrying signs. Unemployment rose from 4.1% in June to 4.3% in July, the highest rate since October 2021.

Dem Senator Elizabeth Warren urged Fed Chair Jerome Powell to “cancel his summer vacation and cut rates now – not wait six weeks.” Recall that the Bank of England lowered the interest rates earlier this week, but the Federal Reserve keeps postponing it, with most estimations seeing September as the first cut in years.

Almost all riskier assets reacted to the weak economic data with price plunges. Wall Street turned red with 2-4% daily declines for the largest indexes, while the more volatile crypto market dumped even harder.

BTC fell from over $65,000 to a multi-week low of $60,500 before it managed to recover some ground. The altcoins were hit even harder.