U.S.-listed Bitcoin exchange-traded funds witnessed a massive outflow of $706 million this week when bear sentiment prevailed. According to data from SoSoValue, net outflows from the 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs stood at $169.97 million on September 6, with major operators Grayscale and Fidelity leading the charge.
The hardest hit was Fidelity’s FBTC, which shed $85.5 million. It was the seventh day of consecutive outflows for the fund. Grayscale’s GBTC wasn’t far behind, as $52.9 million in outflows put its cumulative losses since its creation well north of $20 billion.
The bleeding wasn’t limited to these funds. Bitwise’s BITB saw $14.3 million in outflows, ARK 21Shares’ ARKB lost $7.2 million and Valkyrie’s BRRR had $4.6 million leave its base.
BlackRock and WisdomTree Hold Firm
During the market sell-off, BlackRock’s IBIT, and WisdomTree’s BTCW were the only Bitcoin ETFs that didn’t have any outflows. However, none of these funds posted inflows over the last two days either, indicating investor reluctance in the wake of weaker prices for Bitcoin.
Underperforming Price of Bitcoin
The market still saw highly volatile conditions as Bitcoin fell to $53,304, the lowest since August 5. BTC jumped back up at the time of writing to $54,333 but is still 3% down in the last 24 hours and 10.4% off its weekly high.
The downturn intensified, with over $113.86 million worth of Bitcoin positions being liquidated, adding to the mayhem of uncertainties surrounding the short-term outlook of the cryptocurrency. Investors got even spookier due to the seasonal “Redtember” slump and U.S. interest rate fears.
Bearish Sentiment and Technical Indicators
Meanwhile, with market anxiety at an all-time high, the Crypto Fear and Greed Index currently changes at a reading of 23, meaning extreme fear amongst investors-a development consistent with the technical setup pointing to further downsides.
That and other key signals-including the approaching death cross, where the 50-day and 200-day Exponential Moving Averages cross-could trigger a far larger selloff. The last time Bitcoin saw that pattern, in January 2022, it fell 67%.
Analysts Warn of Further Downside
Nevertheless, analysts are still somewhat conservative with their forecasts. In a falling wedge pattern, Bitcoin has fallen, according to Pushpendra Singh Digital, and there will likely be a breakout only when BTC crosses above the $57,800-$58,000 range. Otherwise, the drop below the $54,000 level could turn into a more emotional fall.
According to another analyst, Nika, critical resistance is at $58,000. Unless the leading cryptocurrency breaks above that zone, it might slide further down to the supports at $45,000 and $42,000.
Conclusion
The market is still skittish as Bitcoin has not regained its momentum, while heavy outflows continuously hit the cryptocurrency’s ETFs. Investors are keeping an eagle’s eye on both technical indicators and macroeconomic factors as they place bets on the next move for Bitcoin. For now, BlackRock and WisdomTree are just two isolated bright spots in what has been a dismal week for the Bitcoin ETFs.
