The U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced a shift in market sentiment on February 18, as net outflows took center stage.
This downturn coincided with Bitcoin briefly dipping below the $95,000 mark, a move largely attributed to declining optimism regarding the potential establishment of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) under a possible Trump administration.
According to data from SoSoValue, the 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs saw a net outflow of $60.63 million on Friday, marking a sharp reversal from the $66.19 million in net inflows recorded the previous trading day.
The biggest contributor to these outflows was Bitwise’s BITB, which witnessed a staggering $112.65 million in redemptions, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC, which logged $16.42 million in outflows.
However, BlackRock’s IBIT provided a silver lining, attracting $68.44 million in fresh inflows, helping to offset some of the day’s losses. The remaining nine Bitcoin ETFs saw no significant activity, with their flows remaining neutral.
Despite the net outflows, trading activity surged, with total daily volume jumping to $2.83 billion, up from $2.2 billion the previous day. This suggests that while some investors exited their positions, market participation remained strong.
In contrast to Bitcoin’s mixed performance, spot Ethereum ETFs continued their positive streak, albeit at a modest pace.
The nine Ethereum ETFs recorded $4.6 million in net inflows on February 18, with all contributions coming from Fidelity’s FETH, which notched its third consecutive day of inflows. The remaining Ethereum ETFs saw no movement for the day, indicating a more cautious but steady investor sentiment.
Bitcoin’s price has been on a downtrend since hitting its all-time high of $109,200 a month ago. As of press time, BTC was trading at $95,287, down 0.4% over the past 24 hours. Ethereum followed a similar pattern, trading sideways at $2,688 per coin.
One of the key drivers behind Bitcoin’s recent decline appears to be growing skepticism surrounding the potential creation of a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) in the U.S. under a possible second Trump administration.
On Polymarket, a prediction platform tracking this development, the probability of Trump implementing an SBR within his first 100 days has fallen to 11%, a stark decline from its 40% peak in January.