Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. experienced significant outflows on February 3, as Bitcoin’s price dipped to a three-week low. Investor fears about a potential trade war, triggered by President Trump’s new tariffs, caused a wave of uncertainty, leading to over $2 billion in liquidations across the crypto derivatives market.
According to data from SoSoValue, the 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively saw a net outflow of $234.54 million on February 3, ending a four-day inflow streak that had previously brought in over $1 billion. The largest outflows came from Fidelity’s FBTC, which lost $177.64 million, followed by ARK and 21Shares’s ARKB with $50.75 million in outflows. VanEck’s HODL and Bitwise’s BITB also contributed to the outflow trend, with $8.63 million and $5.54 million withdrawn, respectively.
On the other hand, Grayscale’s GBTC saw a rare inflow of $8.02 million, its first since January 17, though the fund has largely faced outflows due to its higher fees compared to other Bitcoin ETFs. Overall, Grayscale has accumulated a net outflow of $21.88 billion since its launch.
The remaining Bitcoin ETFs, including BlackRock’s IBIT, the largest BTC ETF by net assets with over $40 billion in total inflows, reported zero flows for the day.
Despite the outflows, Bitcoin ETFs saw a surge in trading volume, with daily transactions rising to $5.88 billion from $3.45 billion the previous day.
Tariffs Spark Sell-off
The outflows from Bitcoin ETFs coincided with President Trump’s announcement of new tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico, and China, which are set to take effect on February 4. The news sparked fears of an escalating global trade war, leading the global crypto market to briefly lose more than $500 billion in value. Over $2 billion in liquidations were recorded in the crypto derivatives market.
Following the tariff announcement, Bitcoin fell from around $105,000 on January 31 to a three-week low of $91,441 on February 3. The broader crypto market saw a nearly 10% decline, with most major cryptocurrencies losing around 20%. However, Bitcoin later managed to recover some of its losses, briefly surpassing $100,000 on February 4, before settling at $99,047 at press time.
The recovery came after Trump agreed to delay the tariffs on Canada and Mexico for one month, easing some of the market’s concerns.
Speculation on U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund
In addition to the tariff news, Trump signed an executive order on February 3 mandating the creation of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund within the next year. While the details of the fund remain unclear, the crypto community has speculated that the U.S. could use the fund to purchase Bitcoin, further fueling interest in the digital asset.