Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded their largest weekly inflow since March, with $2.3 billion flowing into U.S. spot ETFs last week as institutional appetite for digital assets shows no signs of slowing.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led the charge with $1.1 billion in net inflows, pushing its total assets under management past $22 billion. Fidelity’s FBTC followed with $680 million, while Ark Invest’s ARKB added $320 million.
The surge marks the fourth consecutive week of positive flows, reversing a two-month outflow trend that saw ETFs shed nearly $4 billion between April and June. Analysts attribute the reversal to renewed institutional confidence after the Federal Reserve signaled a potential rate cut in September.
“Institutions are no longer asking if they should allocate to bitcoin, but how much,” said Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store. “The ETF wrapper solved the custody and compliance hurdles that kept many institutions on the sidelines.”
Trading volumes have also surged, with IBIT alone seeing $3.2 billion in daily volume last Friday — its highest since March. Options volume on IBIT has exploded, with open interest surpassing 200,000 contracts, signaling growing institutional use of derivatives for hedging and yield enhancement.
Ethereum ETFs, which launched in July, have seen more modest but steady inflows of $450 million over the same period. Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust (ETHE) continues to see outflows as investors rotate into lower-fee alternatives, but the pace has slowed significantly.
With the Fed’s Jackson Hole symposium approaching and inflation data trending favorably, analysts expect the inflow momentum to continue. “September could be the catalyst for the next leg up,” said Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise Asset Management. “Rate cuts remove the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets like bitcoin.”
Source: Cointelegraph
