Spot Bitcoin ETF Outflows Hit $148.69 Million as Demand Struggles

In a significant market shift, U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) reported a net outflow of $148.69 million as of September 30. This marked the first net exit in ten trading days, suggesting persistent demand challenges for Bitcoin despite its recent price recovery.

Major Withdrawals from Leading ETFs

According to data released by Trader T on October 1, the most substantial withdrawal was from Fidelity’s FBTC fund, which saw an outflow of $125.58 million. Bitwise’s BITB fund and BlackRock’s IBIT fund recorded outflows of $13.63 million and $9.48 million, respectively. Other funds remained unchanged, reflecting stability in certain segments.

Despite these outflows, spot Bitcoin ETFs wrapped up September with a total net inflow of $2.65 billion and accumulated inflows of $930.4 million year-to-date. However, market indicators reveal that visible demand is still lacking.

Cryptocurrency analyst Darkfost highlighted that Bitcoin’s visible demand is currently at -112,500 BTC, indicating ongoing deficiencies in spot market demand.

Demand Indicators Show Improvement

Though still negative, the visible demand indicator has shown improvement, rising from -207,000 BTC on September 20. This improvement is partly due to Bitcoin ETFs purchasing approximately 28,000 BTC, thus slightly easing the demand tension.

The visible demand metric assesses whether structural market purchases are sufficient to offset the network’s new supply by comparing new Bitcoin production with the shift in supply inactive for over a year.

Meanwhile, U.S. stock markets displayed mixed performances on Wednesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped by 0.86%, the S&P 500 declined by 0.25%, whereas the Nasdaq saw a marginal rise of 0.24%. Notably, Intel shares increased by 3.71% and Apple’s by 1.1%.

Most AI and crypto-themed stocks experienced price movements below 1%, while overall market volatility remained relatively stable.

On the Bitcoin front, ETF purchases have yet to bridge the gap in spot demand fully. Darkfost warns of the possibility of a slight pullback in Bitcoin prices as the market searches for genuine buying interest.