U.S. exchange-traded funds holding Bitcoin and Ethereum collected roughly $1.2 billion in fresh capital during the trading week ended Sept. 4, with Bitcoin products capturing more than 80% of the total even as prices pulled back in the final sessions.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs took in $986.7 million over the five days, up about 6.7% from $924.5 million the prior week, according to data compiled by Farside Investors. Ethereum funds added $215.3 million, a steep slowdown from $815.7 million a week earlier but still positive.
The strongest single session came on Sept. 3, when the two categories together attracted about $872.2 million. Bitcoin rose above $81,000 that day and Ethereum approached $2,500, helped by comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller suggesting he could support holding rates steady if inflation kept cooling.
BlackRock’s Bitcoin products dominated the weekly tally with $691.5 million in net inflows. The asset manager pulled in $454 million on Sept. 3 alone, a session that accounted for roughly 74% of the entire week’s Bitcoin ETF intake. ARK Invest and 21Shares’ ARKB added $137.7 million that day, while Fidelity’s FBTC and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust recorded $74.4 million and $48.8 million respectively.
Across the full week, ARKB finished with $137.7 million in net inflows and Fidelity’s fund added $94.8 million. Bitwise’s BITB took in $41.7 million. On the other side, VanEck’s HODL posted about $33 million in net withdrawals, while Grayscale’s converted GBTC fund recorded a modest $18.6 million inflow.
Cumulative net inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs reached approximately $55.69 billion by the end of the week.
Ethereum funds stay positive but lose momentum
Ethereum ETF demand cooled considerably from the prior week. The category started strong with an $87.6 million inflow on Aug. 31 and added another $8.6 million on Sept. 1, then reversed with $48.2 million in net outflows on Sept. 2 before rebounding to $141.4 million on Sept. 3 and $25.9 million on the final session.
BlackRock’s ETHA brought in $136.4 million for the week, while its staked Ethereum product ETHB added $81.8 million. Combined, the two funds pulled in $218.2 million — slightly more than the category’s overall net inflow once withdrawals from competing products were factored in.
Fidelity’s FETH ended the week with just $4.7 million in net inflows. The fund attracted $65.1 million on Sept. 3 but lost $48.3 million the following session. Grayscale’s higher-fee ETHE posted $37 million in weekly net outflows, partly offset by $17.1 million in inflows to its lower-cost Ethereum Mini Trust.
Cumulative net inflows into U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs stood at around $13.19 billion at week’s end.
The combined $1.2 billion crypto ETF intake contrasted sharply with the broader U.S. fund market. Investors pulled $11.12 billion from U.S. equity funds during the week ended Sept. 2, according to LSEG Lipper data cited by Reuters. Large-cap funds accounted for $7.52 billion of those withdrawals, while money market funds attracted $48.76 billion.
Reuters attributed the equity outflows to rising bond yields, higher oil prices and Middle East tensions. Sentiment improved on Sept. 3 after Waller’s remarks, which coincided with the week’s largest crypto ETF inflows. But the reversal that followed showed the flows did not eliminate short-term macro risks: Bitcoin was trading near $79,664 at the time of writing, down about 1.8% over the latest session, while Ethereum traded around $2,458 after a 2.8% decline.
The Sept. 3 inflow of $730.9 million into Bitcoin ETFs marked the largest daily net intake since Jan. 14, based on SoSoValue data. Six funds attracted capital that day, including products from Fidelity and Grayscale, in what analysts described as a broadening of institutional participation.
BTC Markets analyst Rachael Lucas said the concentration in BlackRock’s IBIT pointed to longer-term allocations rather than tactical trades around price moves. Institutions commonly use the product for sizable regulated positions, she noted, and the pattern suggested professional investors were accumulating rather than chasing short-term momentum.
The Treasury Department’s expanded buyback announcement also supported the broader crypto rally during August, according to BTSE Chief Operating Officer Jeff Mei, who called Waller’s comments a catalyst for both stocks and digital assets.
Crypto-related equities rallied alongside. Strategy advanced 17.6% to $144.80, Coinbase climbed 10% to $192.70, and Circle gained 16.5% to $103.23.
The next test for ETF demand is likely to come from U.S. economic data. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in August, with the unemployment rate steady at 4.1%. The resilient labor market trimmed some of the optimism generated by Waller’s comments, since a strong economy could give the Fed more room to keep borrowing costs elevated.
Investors will now turn to the Sept. 11 consumer price index report and the Fed’s Sept. 16 policy decision. Sticky inflation could pressure crypto prices and ETF flows, while softer readings would support the case for stable or lower rates.
September has historically been a weak month for Bitcoin, adding another layer of caution despite the substantial inflows. Bitcoin’s 90-day correlation with gold has climbed above 50%, the highest in six years, while its correlation with the S&P 500 has fallen near zero — a shift some analysts read as investors increasingly treating the cryptocurrency as an inflation hedge rather than a risk asset.
Even with those risks, the weekly figures showed U.S. investors remained net buyers of both major crypto ETF categories. Bitcoin products extended their momentum from the prior week, while Ethereum funds stayed in positive territory despite the sharp slowdown in their weekly intake.