US Bitcoin ETFs See Record Inflows Amid Geopolitical Tensions

Surging Capital into Spot Bitcoin ETFs

On Wednesday, US-based spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) welcomed an impressive $388.3 million in new capital, marking the eighth consecutive day of positive inflows. This surge occurs even in the face of initial market anxiety stemming from the ongoing Israel-Iran situation.

Leading Contributors to ETF Growth

The iShares Bitcoin Trust by BlackRock (IBIT) and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) spearheaded these inflows, attracting $278.9 million and $104.4 million respectively, as indicated by data from Farside Investors. This influx highlights the sustained institutional interest in Bitcoin, with the cryptocurrency maintaining its position in the $105,000 range despite heightened geopolitical fears.

Market Stability Amidst Conflict

June 18 saw Bitcoin’s resilience, holding firm between $104,000 and $105,000, despite initial market jitters related to renewed tensions in the Iran-Israel conflict. A post from crypto analytics platform Santiment noted this stabilization, echoing historical patterns of "risk-off, then stabilize" observed during previous geopolitical events.

Historical Price Reactions

Santiment pointed out that the current scenario resembles Bitcoin’s response during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, as well as the Israel-Palestine tensions back in October 2023, where Bitcoin experienced a short-term drop of approximately 7% before regaining stability.

Other ETF Players in the Market

Additionally, the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) registered a modest inflow of $11.3 million on the same day. In contrast, Bitcoin ETFs from ARK Invest, Invesco, Franklin Templeton, Valkyrie, VanEck, and WisdomTree did not see any inflows.

Grayscale’s Performance Dips

Conversely, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) faced challenges, with an outflow of $16.4 million, while the low-fee Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust saw an additional $10.1 million in outflows.

Acceleration in Bitcoin ETF Flows

Following a sluggish start to 2025, Bitcoin ETFs have experienced a remarkable resurgence, amassing a total of $11.2 billion in inflows since April 17. During this period, there have been only eight days of outflows, while Bitcoin’s price increased from below $85,000 to just under $105,000.

Comprehensive Inflow Data

In total, more than $46.3 billion has flowed into 11 Bitcoin products, including significant contributions of $50.6 billion from BlackRock’s IBIT and $11.5 billion from Fidelity’s FBTC. Notably, this figure includes $23.2 billion attributed to outflows from Grayscale’s GBTC.

Ether ETFs Showing Strong Performance

Meanwhile, US spot Ether (ETH) ETFs recently enjoyed a 19-day streak of inflows, which briefly paused on June 13, but rebounded with three straight days of new capital influxes totaling over $19.1 million by June 18. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) emerged as a frontrunner, despite experiencing overall net outflows of $5.28 billion.

Stable Growth for BlackRock’s ETHA

Since May 20, BlackRock’s ETHA has consistently reported inflows on nearly every trading day, missing only two occasions, and has not seen outflows since early May. The strong inflow trend aligns with a more cooperative approach taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Crypto Task Force, which has clarified that protocol-level staking isn’t classified as a securities transaction, potentially paving the way for Ether ETFs featuring staking functionalities.

Following the latest developments, the cryptocurrency market remains vigilant, with investors keenly observing how these trends evolve amidst ongoing geopolitical dynamics.