Bitcoin ETF snapshot: $2B of inflows, but BTC price stuck

Bitcoin marched closer to an all-time high price last week amid particularly strong inflows into bitcoin ETFs.

But uncertainty around the Federal Reserve’s potential interest rate cut outlook appears to be keeping BTC from hitting a new peak.

The US spot bitcoin ETF category notched $887 million of net inflows on June 4, according to Farside Investors data — the second-highest total for the segment in a single day since they launched in January.

In total, the 11 funds reeled in roughly $1.8 billion in assets from June 3 to June 7, the data shows. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust — now the largest bitcoin ETF — accounted for $948 million of those inflows, while the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) welcomed $679 million.

Net inflows for the category now total nearly $15.7 billion after about five months on the market.

Trading volumes across crypto exchange-traded products reached $12.8 billion last week, according to CoinShares — up 55% from the week before. Inflows were seen far and wide across providers, CoinShares research head James Butterfill wrote in a Monday report.

Slight outflows of $31 million for the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) reflect a continued slowdown of asset hemorrhaging for the fund.

“We believe this turn-around in sentiment is a direct response to weaker than expected macro data in the US, bringing forward monetary policy rate cut expectations,” Butterfill added.

BTC’s price hit nearly $72,000 on Friday before retreating further from its high of more than $73,000. One bitcoin was trading at roughly $69,300 at 10 am ET Monday — down 0.4% on the day but up 2.4% from a week ago.

The sell-off came after US employment data dropped Friday. The US economy added 272,000 jobs in May — a higher figure than analysts expected.

Other macro factors are also in the mix. The European Central Bank went ahead with its first rate cut in five years — from 4% to 3.75%.

“But even the most bullish of traders appreciates the Fed will surely need to follow suit for bitcoin to take the next step,” Stocklytics analyst Neil Roarty said in a statement.

The Federal Reserve’s FOMC meeting comes Wednesday. Pepperstone research strategist Michael Brown said he doesn’t expect the May employment report to be a “game-changer” for the Fed’s policy outlook.

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz and others have said they believe bitcoin could hit $100,000 by the end of the year — citing the ETF interest and possible US interest rate cuts.

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