Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States recorded $680 million in outflows on Dec. 19 as Bitcoin fell below $96k amid the Federal Reserve maintaining a cautious outlook on future interest rate cuts.
According to data from SoSoValue, the 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs logged outflows of $680 million on Thursday, breaking a 15-day streak of inflows that had brought over $6.7 billion into the funds.
Fidelity’s FBTC led the decline with $208.55 million exiting the fund, followed by Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust and ARK 21Shares’ ARKB, which recorded outflows of $188.6 million and $108.35 million, respectively. Other notable outflows included:
- Grayscale’s GBTC: $87.86 million
- Bitwise BITB: $43.61 million
- Invesco Galaxy’s BTCO: $25.97 million
- VanEck’s HODL: $10.91 million
- Valkyrie’s BRRR: $8.19 million
Amidst the sell-off, WisdomTree’s BTCW stood as an outlier, attracting a modest $2.05 million in inflows. BlackRock’s IBIT and two other BTC ETFs reported no changes in flows for the day.
Despite the outflows, trading activity in Bitcoin ETFs surged, with total trading volume reaching $6.31 billion, a notable increase from the previous day’s $5.86 billion.
Bitcoin’s (BTC) fall below $96,000—down 4.4% at $96,751 at the time of reporting—was largely attributed to the Federal Reserve’s latest interest rate decision.
While the Fed implemented a widely anticipated 0.25% rate cut, bringing this year’s cumulative cuts to 1%, officials signaled a cautious approach moving forward. Only two additional rate cuts are planned for 2025, with inflation projected to meet the 2% target by 2026 or 2027. This hawkish tone dampened investor sentiment, leading to a 4.5% drop in the broader cryptocurrency market, which stood at $3.51 trillion.
Ethereum ETFs Follow Suit with Declining Momentum
Spot Ethereum ETFs also faced a challenging day, logging outflows of $60.47 million and breaking an 18-day streak of inflows.
Grayscale’s ETHE accounted for the majority, with $58.13 million exiting the fund. Bitwise’s ETHW, Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust, and Invesco’s QETH also saw outflows of $6.78 million, $3.18 million, and $2.36 million, respectively.
In contrast, Fidelity’s FETH and VanEck’s ETHV managed to attract inflows of $5.05 million and $4.94 million, partially offsetting the broader trend.
Despite the daily outflows, cumulative net inflows for Ethereum ETFs remained positive at $2.4 billion. Ethereum’s (ETH) price reflected the bearish sentiment, dropping 8.1% over the past day to $3,378 per coin.