US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) endured a volatile week between Sept. 28 and Oct. 2 as institutional demand cooled a bit before recovering right as Bitcoin entered the fourth quarter.
The funds started the week with $31 million in net inflows on Sept. 28, followed by another $66.2 million on Sept. 29. However, the positive streak ended on Sept. 30 when the ETFs suffered $148.7 million in net outflows. Fidelity’s FBTC accounted for $125.6 million of those withdrawals, while BlackRock’s IBIT lost $9.5 million and Bitwise’s BITB shed $13.6 million.
Bitcoin ETF flows (Source: Farside Investors)
Demand returned on Oct. 1, when the funds attracted $102.7 million. BlackRock dominated the session with $195.6 million flowing into IBIT, which offset withdrawals from several competing products, including $60.7 million from FBTC and $31.4 million from Grayscale’s GBTC.
Bitcoin Recovers After Rough Start to the Week
Bitcoin initially struggled alongside the slowdown in ETF demand. BTC opened Sept. 28 around $84,500 and fell as low as roughly $82,600 before closing near $83,500. The cryptocurrency remained around $83,500 through Sept. 30 before beginning to recover as October started.
BTC briefly surged above $87,000 on Friday, Oct. 2. The rally coincided with renewed expectations that the Federal Reserve could take a more patient approach to interest rates, although Bitcoin surrendered much of Friday's advance before the session ended.
The recovery strengthened over the weekend. Bitcoin held above $84,000 on Saturday before rallying on Sunday, reaching an intraday high of approximately $86,770 and closing around $86,480.
That left BTC roughly 2.7% higher compared with its Sept. 28 opening price, despite the volatile ETF flows and midweek selling pressure.
