While exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for ether (ETH) attracted inflows of more than $70 million on Friday in the United States, their bitcoin (BTC) counterparts experienced a significant capital hemorrhage. Bitcoin ETFs saw net outflows reaching $616 million, marking a new phase in the institutional divergence between the two leading digital assets.
These figures represent the largest daily net outflow for Bitcoin ETFs since last February and the fourth largest in their history, as the chart below shows. BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF, called IBIT, led the outflows with $430 million, the largest outflow recorded for this fund. It was followed by Ark Invest's ARKB with $120 million, and Bitwise's BITB, which saw a $35 million outflow.
Daily capital flow into bitcoin ETFs in the United States since launch. Source: Sosovalue.
In stark contrast, Ethereum ETFs showed robust health. All of Friday's $70 million in net inflows were concentrated in ETHA, the fund issued by BlackRock.
This marked ten consecutive days of positive flows for products based on the second-largest cryptoasset by market capitalization, as seen below.
Daily capital flow into ether ETFs in the United States since launch. Source: Sosovalue.
"Every exit from Bitcoin ETFs is a silent transfer of supply into stronger hands," commented Kyle Chasse of investment firm Master Ventures, suggesting a consolidation of the asset. “The sell-off is not a retail panic,” he considered.
Derivatives market indicators reinforce this trend. Open interest in ETH futures on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) has climbed 186% since April, far outpacing the 70% increase in BTC futures. Moreover, Ethereum futures premiums stand at 10.5% annualized, compared to 8.74% for Bitcoin, suggesting greater speculative trading in ETH than in the leading crypto asset.
It's worth noting, however, that the price of ETH failed to break the $2,800 resistance level during the week and is currently trading around $2,542. This is 50% below its all-time high of $4,900 recorded in 2021, while BTC set a new record near $112,000 last week and is now hovering around $104,000.
Still, over the past 30 days, ETH has risen by approximately 38%, while Bitcoin has risen by only 9% over the same period, reflecting rising sentiment in its market despite its weak long-term performance.
A positive streak took hold of Ethereum ETFs, noting that the price of ETH is benefiting from millions of dollars in investments in consecutive daily inflows. The recent surge in interest in Ethereum ETFs marks a complete change from the landscape just a month ago. Back then, following their debut in July 2024, these financial instruments failed to attract the expected capital, and their impact on the overall ETH price was either zero or even negative.
The prevailing narrative was one of an incipient “failure,” with many questioning why these funds weren't replicating the initial success seen in other investment products in the digital asset market. However, the current situation shows, for now, a shift in perspective among institutional and traditional investors, who are the ones primarily accessing ETFs.
