U.S.-traded spot Bitcoin investment funds posted net outflows for the fifth consecutive week, continuing to reflect the sluggishness in institutional demand coupled with the general pullback in digital asset markets. According to the announced figures, the total outflow amounted to 316 million dollars in the said period, thus marking the longest sales wave in the market.
Weakening in Institutional Investors’ Demands
A total of $316 million outflow occurred in 12 US-based spot Bitcoin funds in the week of February 20. During this period, the decrease in trading days to four and negative closings for three consecutive days attracted attention. While the highest rise is seen in the middle of the week; $105 million was allocated from the funds on Tuesday, $133 million on Wednesday and $166 million on Thursday.
The limited entry of $88 million on Friday did not change the weekly chart. In particular, it was announced that there was an inflow of $64.5 million in BlackRock’s IBIT fund and $23.6 million in Fidelity’s FBTC fund. However, these inflows did not balance the outflows throughout the week.
Change of Direction in Markets and Capital Movements Between Funds
Total withdrawals from spot Bitcoin ETFs have reached approximately $3.8 billion since the week of January 20. The previous year, a similar trend was noted during the general sell-off in the markets; At that time, high outflow figures of 1.33 and 1.49 billion dollars were experienced for two consecutive weeks, respectively. In recent weeks, outflows have ranged from 316 to 360 million dollars.
Despite this clear outflow trend, the overall size of the ETF market is noteworthy. It was stated that a net amount of 54 billion dollars has entered the funds since the start of operations in January 2024, and a total of 85.3 billion dollars has been reached.
Bitcoin price is traded around $68,600 and has lost more than 20 percent since the beginning of the year. Analysts stated that the price is below an important on-chain level and the market distinguishes between periods of expansion and consolidation.
Similarly, a weekly outflow of $123 million was recorded in Ether-based funds, and low demand in this asset has been remarkable for five weeks. On the other hand, there was an inflow of 14.3 million dollars in Solana-focused investment products, while a slight increase of 1.8 million dollars was observed in XRP-based funds.
These opposing movements indicate that capital rotation is being observed within crypto investment funds. It is stated that investors are turning to different digital assets and taking a cautious approach, rather than leaving the sector completely.
Crypto ETF Applications and New Token Plan from Trump Media
Trump Media and Technology Group, Donald Trump’s initiative, announced last week that it has applied for two ETFs based on Bitcoin, Ether and Cronos (CRO). The company announced that it aims to launch a fund that monitors the performance of two major cryptocurrencies, called “Truth Social Bitcoin and Ether ETF”, and a product that focuses on CRO and also offers staking rewards, called “Truth Social Cronos Yield Maximizer ETF”.
Crypto.com will provide custody, liquidity and staking services of the Cronos-focused fund. Trump Media also emphasized that blockchain technology will be integrated more broadly in the coming period, not just limited to ETFs, and that it is planning a new digital token distribution to company shareholders on the Cronos network. Additionally, the company had previously publicly announced its efforts to create a CRO-based corporate crypto treasury.
