Amidst what was initially perceived as the imminent approval of a spot-based Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), optimism has started to fade, evidenced by $42 million worth of outflows from BTC alone during the week, as of Aug. 21. According to an Aug. 21 report from Cointelegraph, $42 million worth of outflows from BTC alone during the week revealed the shifting sentiment.
Ethereum products faced a similar fate, as Ether funds experienced $9 million in outflows, and Polygon, Litecoin and Polkadot collectively recorded $2 million in outflows. The sole exceptions to this trend were Ripple's XRP and Cardano, both of which saw inflows, with XRP attracting $1.2 million and Cardano garnering a modest $100,000, Cointelegraph reported.
Geographically, nearly all territories documented outflows, with Canada leading with a substantial $35.9 million outflow, trailed by Germany and the United States with $11 million and $5.5 million outflows, respectively. In contrast, Switzerland and Australia were the outliers, reporting inflows of $3.5 million and $100,000, respectively, according to the Cointelegraph report.
According to CoinShares, the motivation behind these outflows stems from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's lack of movement toward approving a spot Bitcoin ETF, Cointelegraph reported.
“We believe this [market movement] is in reaction to recent media highlighting that a decision by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in allowing a U.S. spot-based ETF is not imminent,” the Cointelegraph report said.
Speculation among investors about the potential approval of a spot-based Bitcoin ETF has generated much enthusiasm for the cryptocurrency's future. Some experts even suggest that such an approval could act as a "moon-worthy" catalyst for the crypto market, according to Cointelegraph.
Fundstrat, a research boutique, forecasts that Bitcoin's coin value "will surge beyond an impressive $150,000 by the conclusion of 2024" if the SEC indeed begins endorsing spot-based Bitcoin ETFs, Cointelegraph reported.
