Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for spot bitcoin (BTC) and ether (ETH) listed in the U.S. experienced outflows on Wednesday, despite a notable increase in cryptocurrency prices following President Donald Trump’s announcement of a 90-day tariff pause on the majority of countries, with China being the exception.
The eleven bitcoin ETFs recorded a total outflow of $127.2 million on Wednesday, highlighted by withdrawals of $89.7 million from BlackRock’s IBIT fund alone, according to data from Farside Investors. This event marks the fifth straight day of outflows, leading to a total loss of $722 million across this timeframe.
Ether ETFs are also losing traction among investors, with the nine funds witnessing a net outflow of $11.2 million on Wednesday.
The decreasing interest can be linked to the ongoing macroeconomic uncertainty stemming from U.S.-China trade issues and volatility in bond markets, which likely compelled macro investors to liquidate various assets, including crypto ETFs, in favor of cash.
Market conditions improved significantly late Wednesday, following Trump’s announcement of a 90-day tariff suspension for over 75 countries that did not retaliate against the sweeping tariffs he implemented the previous week. However, no concessions were made for China, as Trump raised the total tariff on Chinese products to 125%.
Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market capitalization, surged over 8% to $83,500, while ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, rose 13% to $1,770, in conjunction with larger gains seen across the altcoin market, as reported by CoinDesk. Simultaneously, Wall Street’s Nasdaq 100, heavily weighted in technology, gained over 12%, marking the most significant single-day percentage increase in decades.
