Bitcoin

Bitcoin ETF outflows cross $288M amidst Labor Day’s ‘risk-off mode’

Bitcoin ETFs outflows streak hit the second week as BTC struggles below $60K.

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  • U.S. Bitcoin ETF outflows continued into the new week. 
  • BTC price has remained muted amid weak demand from U.S. investors. 

U.S. spot Bitcoin [BTC] ETFs (exchange-traded funds) saw a significant bleed-out post-Labor Day, underscoring a sustained risk-off mode from investors.

After an extended U.S. weekend, the products recorded $288 million in outflows on the 3rd of September. 

Source: SpotOnChain

Apart from BlackRock, Wisdom Tree, and Grayscale Mini, which recorded zero flows, the rest posted negative flows.

Fidelity led the outflows as investors withdrew $162.3 million from its Bitcoin trust fund. Grayscale and Ark 21Shares followed closely, with $50.4 million and $33.6 million, respectively. 

BTC ETF investors’ risk-off mode persist

The post-Labor Day outflows reinforced the weak trend that began last week. Soso Value data showed that the products have seen negative daily outflows in the past five trading days. 

Source: Soso Value

The weak trend suggested that ETF investors’ risk-off mode has been sustained into the new week. Last week, the products recorded a cumulative outflow of $277 million.

BTC’s price has remained muted amidst sustained BTC ETF outflows. 

Since last week, the digital asset has dropped below $60K and weakened further as the risk-off mode persists across the market. BTC was valued at $56.6K at press time, down over 12% from a recent high of $64K. 

That said, the low demand from U.S. investors could weigh on the crypto asset’s price in the short term.

As illustrated by the Coinbase Premium Index, which tracks investors’ demand for BTC, its price always increases if there’s enormous demand from the U.S. 

Source: CryptoQuant

However, the weak demand (marked by red) has exposed BTC to downward pressure since late August. A substantial reversal could only happen if demand from U.S. investors showed a remarkable recovery. 

In the meantime, based on historical trends, most analysts, including QCP Capital, projected a weak performance for BTC in September.

However, according to a crypto trading firm, BTC could begin a strong rally in October and the rest of Q4 based on past patterns and options market data. 

‘October, however, has the strongest bullish seasonality…This seasonality play could explain the consistent call buying in the vol market (the desk observed another 150x 80k Dec calls lifted in Asia morning).’