Crypto Investors Withdraw from Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Amid Tariff Uncertainty
Withdrawals from Bitcoin and Ether ETFs occurred even with a surge in their prices following a temporary halt in U.S. tariffs.
What You Need to Know:
- BlackRock’s IBIT led the outflows in the Bitcoin ETFs.
- Withdrawals happened even as prices surged after the U.S. paused tariffs on most countries for 90 days.
U.S.-listed Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced significant withdrawals on Wednesday despite a rise in their prices following President Trump’s announcement of a 90-day break on tariffs on most countries except China.
The 11 Bitcoin ETFs experienced a net outflow of $127.2 million with $89.7 million withdrawn from BlackRock’s IBIT alone, according to Farside Investors. This marked the fifth day of consecutive outflows, leading to a total loss of $722 million during this span.
Ether ETFs too are seeing a decline in investor interest with a $11.2 million net outflow recorded on Wednesday.
This dwindling interest appears to be a response to macroeconomic uncertainties stemming from ongoing U.S.-China trade tensions and fluctuations in bond markets, which have prompted macro investors to liquidate various assets, including crypto ETFs, for cash.
Markets did recover later on Wednesday after Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs affecting over 75 nations that did not retaliate against him. Nevertheless, China, which has imposed steep tariffs on U.S. goods, remains unrelieved as Trump raised the total levy on Chinese goods to 125%.
Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market value, saw an increase of over 8%, reaching $83,500, while Ether’s price rose 13%, reaching $1,770. CoinDesk’s data also indicated significant increases in the altcoin market and a 12% jump in the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index, marking its largest single-day percentage increase in decades.
