Signs are mounting that Bitcoin’s historic ETF-driven rally may be losing steam.
August saw $301 million pulled from Bitcoin investment products, even as Ethereum funds raked in nearly $4 billion of fresh inflows, according to CoinShares.
Adding to the pressure, whales have been rotating aggressively into Ethereum. One large holder dumped 4,000 BTC this week to buy almost 97,000 ETH, while Arkham Intelligence tracked nine whales offloading roughly $450 million in Bitcoin for Ethereum over recent days.
These moves suggest that, at least for now, institutional and whale capital sees more upside in ETH than BTC.
Even with softer demand, ETFs and other exchange-traded products now control an extraordinary slice of the Bitcoin pie.
Collectively, they hold more than 1.47 million BTC – equal to 7% of the total supply that will ever exist. U.S. funds account for the bulk of this, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust leading at nearly 747,000 BTC and Fidelity’s FBTC in second place with about 200,000.
Since December, global ETPs have added over 170,000 BTC worth nearly $19 billion. Yet the pace of accumulation appears to be slowing, just as gold strengthens and September — historically Bitcoin’s weakest month — weighs on sentiment.
