The fresh, sharp withdrawals from US crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have revived concerns that Bitcoin’s rebound rally might just fade out now. However, some traders are signalling that the rally could prove to be a short-lived bull trap.
BTC ETFs recorded a sell-off for the second consecutive day. More than $348 million flew out from these funds on March 6. It also turned out to be the largest daily withdrawal since Feb 14. SoSoValue data shows that Fidelity’s CBOE was the biggest loser. It lost about $159 million in a single session. BlackRock’s IBIT stood 2nd on the tally with more than $143 million in outflows.
BTC down 22% YTD
Bitcoin price dropped by almost 2% over the last 24 hours. BTC is trading down by around 22% since the beginning of the year. The cumulative crypto market cap dipped marginally on Friday night. It is hovering at the $2.32 trillion mark. Amid all this, the Fear and Greed index is depicting “Extreme Fear” among investors.
Ether ETFs were caught following a similar pattern. They posted $82.9 million in net withdrawals on the same day. Fidelity’s FETH bled $67.6 million while Grayscale’s ETH lost $6 million. A day prior, on March 5, these funds recorded a $90 million sell-off.
This comes in when the outflows saw a short reversal in ETF demand earlier in the week. Bitcoin ETFs had bagged $458 million in inflows on March 2, while March 3 knocked $225 million on March 3. $461 million of inflow landed on March 4. The streak ended on March 5 when the ETFs logged $227.9 million in withdrawals.
Binance, in a post, reported its proof-of-reserves report. It showed BTC balances on the platform fell by about 8,004 BTC month over month. Its user holdings now stand at roughly 631,000 BTC. Ethereum balances have even more declined. It dropped 7.35% to around 3.87 million coins.
Altseason hype fading away?
Falling exchange reserves are often seen as a sign that investors are moving assets into cold storage. It hints that they are not preparing for sale. This trend comes in with weaker momentum across the crypto market. CMC’s altcoin index is far, far away from indicating Altcoin Season anytime soon.
Altcoins have struggled a lot to regain traction. Santiment reported that social media mentions of “altseason” have dropped 78% from their 2024 peak. It is now at its lowest level in more than two years. The biggest altcoin, Ether, is down by more than 60% from its all time high.
Other major tokens like Solana and Cardano remain down between 70% and 90% from previous highs. The biggest meme coin, Dogecoin, is down by over 87% from its ATH of $0.73, recorded on May 8, 2021. Shiba Inu has nose dived by almost 94% from its high.
Macro conditions are continuing to shape market behavior. Recent US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets have caused tensions. It has pushed Bitcoin lower before derivatives-driven buying helped it to lift the market.
Source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/etfs-outflows-raise-bull-trap-fears-for-bitcoin/
