Wall Street’s Reaction to Fed Policy

Bitcoin ETFs (Exchange-traded funds) broke a 15-day streak of positive flows on Thursday, recording the largest single-day outflows since their launch in January. Ethereum ETFs shared the sentiment, breaking an 18-day streak of positive flows.

It comes as markets continue to reel from the comments made by Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday.

Bitcoin ETF Outflows Set New Peak at $672 Million

According to data on Farside investors, Bitcoin ETF outflows reached a new peak on Thursday at $671.9 million. This beat the previous high of negative flows of $564 million recorded on May 1, 2024.

Based on the data, Fidelity’s FBTC fund led the selling volume on the December 19 trading session with outflows of up to $208.5 million. Notably, this marked the highest level in the fund’s operation since January 11, when these financial instruments first hit the market.

Grayscale’s BTC fund recorded outflows of $188.6 million, marking its worst performance since launch. Ark Invest’s ARKB also contributed more than $108 million to the total outflows in the Thursday trading session. BlackRock’s IBIT fund bucked the trend, alongside Franklin Templeton’s EZBC and Valkyries’ BRRR, recording neither outflows nor inflows.

Farside data also shows a similar outlook in the Ethereum ETF market, breaking an 18-day streak of positive flows as outflows hit $60.5 million. Crypto enthusiast Mark Cullen attributes the turnout to the news that the FED is not allowed to hold BTC, a stance that may threaten prospects of a Bitcoin reserve in the US.

“It seems that the US BTC ETFs are all capitulating after the news that the FED isn’t allowed to hold BTC. So does that mean no strategic Bitcoin reserve fund? Total outflows net -$671.9 million,” Cullen shared.

Indeed, during his press conference on Wednesday, Jerome Powell said the Federal Reserve is not allowed Bitcoin, suggesting that they can only advise and regulate. The Fed chair also hinted at not keeping interest rate cuts going into 2025 as previously expected. This change in rhetoric came after data showed US inflation was not cooling as Federal Reserve officials had hoped.

Against this backdrop, the massive outflows on December 19 likely represent Wall Street investors’ reaction, with only two interest rate cuts expected next year.