U.S. bitcoin ETFs returned to weekly inflows with $304.73 million from Oct. 19 through Oct. 23, reversing the previous week’s $229 million withdrawal. Ether funds remained under pressure with $220.60 million in outflows, while zcash emerged as the strongest altcoin flow story.
Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin ETFs drew $304.73M last week, reversing the prior week’s $229M outflow.
- Ether lost $220.60M for a fourth negative week, while zcash rebounded with $41.09M.
- Broader bitcoin inflows across issuers would suggest late-week selling was mostly profit-taking.
Bitcoin ETFs Reverse $229M Weekly Loss With $305M Inflows
Institutional crypto trading last week was less a steady march than a series of violent changes in direction.
Bitcoin ETFs opened with $526.60 million on Monday, added $23.16 million Tuesday and surged by another $528.40 million on Wednesday. In three sessions, more than $1 billion had entered the products.
Then the tide turned.
Thursday produced a $635.49 million outflow, the largest since June 25. Another $137.94 million left on Friday. Even after that reversal, bitcoin ETFs finished the week with $304.73 million in net inflows, a sharp improvement from the $228.6 million lost a week earlier.
Blackrock Drives Bitcoin’s Recovery
Blackrock’s IBIT dominated the weekly fund rankings with $675.96 million in net inflows.
Fidelity’s FBTC moved the other way, losing $84.80 million. Ark & 21Shares’ ARKB shed $99.64 million, while Grayscale’s GBTC lost $51.86 million.
The flow pattern says as much about conviction as the weekly total.
Monday’s surge was heavily concentrated in IBIT. By Wednesday, buying had broadened across eight bitcoin products. The subsequent two-day reversal showed that institutional positioning around bitcoin’s price remains highly tactical.
Still, the improvement from the previous week is significant. Bitcoin went from $229 million of withdrawals to more than $300 million of new capital despite substantial late-week selling.
That resilience separates it from much of the wider crypto ETF market.
Ether Remains Caught in a Redemption Cycle
Ether ETFs recorded approximately $220.60 million in weekly outflows, marking a fourth consecutive negative week.
Monday and Tuesday saw withdrawals of $103.28 million and $26.13 million, respectively. Wednesday briefly returned the category to inflows with $14.96 million, before Thursday erased that progress with a $110.50 million exit.
Friday added a modest $4.35 million inflow.
The result was better than the previous week’s roughly $320 million withdrawal, but the underlying trend remains weak. Positive ether sessions continue to appear without developing into sustained accumulation.
Solana showed a similar pattern.
SOL ETFs lost $17.30 million for the week, an improvement from the prior week’s $25.52 million outflow. A 12-day redemption streak briefly ended on Wednesday, only for outflows to return Thursday.
Zcash Rebounds While NEAR Stays Resilient
Zcash delivered the clearest turnaround among smaller funds.
ZEC ETFs attracted $41.09 million after losing $19.15 million the week before. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday produced three consecutive inflow sessions totaling almost $50 million.
XRP ETFs also finished positive with about $4.26 million in net inflows.
NEAR continued to show unusual resilience, adding $5.22 million despite recording its first outflow on Tuesday. The category has repeatedly attracted capital during periods of weakness elsewhere.
HYPE remained under pressure, losing $15.22 million.
The week therefore produced a more nuanced picture than bitcoin’s headline recovery suggests. Institutional demand returned to bitcoin, zcash found renewed momentum, and NEAR continued building its asset base. Ether, solana and HYPE remained stuck in redemption cycles.
Heading into the new week, bitcoin’s flow breadth will be the key signal. A return to broad inflows across several issuers would strengthen the case that Thursday and Friday represented profit-taking. Renewed selling across IBIT and FBTC would point to a more fragile recovery.
For ether and solana, the bar is simpler: they need consecutive positive sessions before the recent institutional retreat can credibly be called over.