Interestingly, the renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East did not affect BlackRock’s IBIT, which bucked the trend by attracting $37 million in inflows.
The cryptocurrency market continues to experience turbulence, with the latest wave of volatility driven by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The conflict between Iran and Israel has created uncertainty in global markets, leading to a significant impact on Bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs). On October 3, these products saw a total outflow of $54 million. Notably, only two of the US-based Bitcoin spot ETFs were primarily responsible for the outflows.
According to blockchain analytics firm SoSoValue, investors pulled out substantial amounts from Ark Invest’s ARKB and Fidelity Investment’s FBTC, while others, such as Grayscale’s GBTC, remained relatively unaffected.
Contrasting Trends in Bitcoin ETFs
Interestingly, the renewed geopolitical tensions in the Middle East did not affect BlackRock’s IBIT, which bucked the trend by attracting $37 million in inflows. This strong performance marks the fund’s 17th consecutive day without outflows.
Currently, BlackRock’s IBIT holds a cumulative net inflow of $21.56 billion, with Bitcoin BTC $70 716 24h volatility: 4.8% Market cap: $1.41 T Vol. 24h: $54.16 B making up 2% of its portfolio.
Since the start of October, BlackRock’s product has maintained solid performance, recording around $40.8 million in inflows on the first day of the month. Even in the aftermath of Iran’s missile attack on Israel on October 1, which drove Bitcoin spot ETFs to a two-week low, IBIT continued to show resilience.
In addition to IBIT, Bitwise’s Bitcoin ETF BITB also registered a decent inflow of nearly $3 million on Thursday. This is the first time the product is seeing a positive flow since the start of the month.
Other funds such as Invesco Galaxy’s BTCO also captured investors’ interest, recording $2.65 million in inflow.
These three funds are the only crypto-related investment products that posted positive flows from investors on October 3. The remaining six including VanEck HODL, Franklin Templeton’s Digital EZBC and WisdomTree’s BTCW were on the sidelines watching as the market reacted to global uncertainties.
Global Bitcoin ETF Market Feels the Impact of Middle East’s Crisis
Beyond the United States, the international Bitcoin spot ETF market has also been heavily affected by ongoing crisis and market uncertainties. In Hong Kong, all approved Bitcoin ETFs saw no inflows on Thursday, reflecting the broader market’s hesitation.
According to data from SoSoValue, the ChinaAMC Bitcoin ETF dropped by 0.83%, with two other ETFs declining by 0.49% and 0.60%, respectively.
As for Ethereum ETFs, the products have faced similar challenges. In the US, the sector experienced outflows of approximately $3.20 million, while in Hong Kong, no new inflows were recorded.
Notably, only BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) managed to register a positive inflow, exceeding $12 million. On the other hand, Grayscale and Fidelity reported losses of about $15 million and $587,000, respectively.
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