U.S. spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs posted net outflows on Wednesday, indicating that the earlier institutional‑driven rally may be losing steam.
According to SoSoValue, Bitcoin‑focused funds shed $82 million and Ether‑focused funds $29 million. The sell‑off was widespread in Bitcoin, affecting even BlackRock’s IBIT, which lost $31 million, and ARKB, which fell $44 million, while every Ether fund ended in negative territory.
The catalyst was the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting, where Fed Chair Kevin Warsh kept the benchmark rate unchanged at 3.50%‑3.75% but signaled a more hawkish outlook.
The median projection now envisions the policy rate reaching 3.8 % by the end of 2026, up from the 3.4 % forecast in March, with nine of the 18 officials penciling in at least one rate hike this year. Market participants now assign roughly a 60 % probability to a hike as early as October. The rate cuts that previously fueled the price rally have disappeared.
Trading activity has stalled amid these outflows. The overall crypto market capitalization has remained flat around $2.26 trillion since Tuesday’s close, and Bitcoin’s price has slipped to approximately $63,800, hovering near the middle of the gains recorded over the past eleven days, according to CoinDesk.
The macro environment has shifted dramatically. While the earlier peace‑driven recovery eased inflation concerns, a Fed now leaning toward rate hikes has supplanted the anticipated cuts that crypto markets had been banking on.
The next critical tests will be the evolving October hike probabilities and whether demand for ETF exposure rebounds.
