Bitcoin, Ether ETFs rebound with nearly $1B in fresh money

Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are back in demand among investors. These ETFs combined for nearly a single-day haul of $1 billion while Washington’s budget gridlock slowed down the approval pipeline for new crypto products.

October 2 saw Bitcoin ETFs posting net inflows of $627 million, marking their fourth consecutive day of gains. Bitcoin price has managed to surge from below the $110,000 levels to hit the $120,000 mark in these last days. The cumulative crypto market cap went on to climb over $4.1 trillion investors’ sentiment turned bullish.

Bitcoin ETFs score $627 million

According to SoSoValue data, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led BTC ETFs inflow with $466.5 million intake. This pushed its total inflow since launch to $61.8 billion. Fidelity’s FBTC followed with $89.6 million in inflows, bringing its historical tally to $12.6 billion.

Ark’s ARKB reported $45.18 million in inflows while Bitwise’s BITB posted $11.17 million in inflows. Grayscale’s BTC and GBTC both recorded inflows of $10.1 million and $2.85 million, respectively.

As of this week, Bitcoin ETFs collectively manage $161 billion in assets. This represents around 6.7% of the total BTC market cap. Year-to-date inflows stand at $22.8 billion, with $58.4 billion since inception.

Bitcoin price has surged by more than 10% in the last 7 days. BTC is trading at an average price of $120,460 at press time. Its 24-hour trading volume is up by 6% to stand at $72.4 billion.

Ethereum ETFs also saw heavy demand, pulling in $307 million on the same day. It marked a parallel four-day streak of net inflows. The rebound comes after a patchy September for digital assets, with traders now watching if Ether can build momentum ahead of any new product launches.

BlackRock’s ETHA recorded over $177 million of inflows, leading the upward run for ETH ETFs. Fidelity went on to rake in $60 million in the last session, while Bitwise’s ETHW posted $46.4 million of inflows.

Ethereum price has spiked by over 15% over the last 7 days. ETH is trading at an average price of $4,532 at press time. Its 24-hour trading volume is up by 3% to $46 billion.

Earlier, Cryptopolitan reportedly that VanEck filed to set up a Lido Staked Ethereum ETF under Delaware trust law. It is the first step toward potential approval by the SEC.

SEC closure delays altcoin ETF season 

But while inflows are heating up, the broader ETF rollout is facing headwinds from Washington’s shutdown. The SEC has warned it will not review or approve new products during the closure. It has effectively put dozens of applications on ice. This includes funds tied to Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin.

ETF analysts had expected the first Solana-based products to gain clearance this month. That timeline now looks shaky.

“ETF Cryptober might be on hold for a bit,” said Nate Geraci of the ETF Store. Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas, who dubbed the current cycle “crypto ETF approval season,” said issuers will simply have to wait until regulators are back at full capacity.