Bitcoin ETFs Took In $159.9m as BlackRock and Fidelity Carried Demand Before the Fed

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds returned to net inflows on 14 September, taking in $159.9m, but the rebound rested almost entirely on two products from BlackRock and Fidelity.

The intake ended four consecutive sessions of withdrawals that had removed $462.7m from the funds, according to Farside Investors data cited by CryptoSlate.

A partial recovery

Monday's inflow recovered only about 35% of those losses. Across the five sessions to 14 September, the products still recorded roughly $302.8m of net outflows. At Monday's pace, the funds would need about two more sessions of similar size just to erase the rest of those losses.

BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) took in $134.3m and Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) added $53.3m. Together they drew $187.6m, more than the market's net total, because selling in other funds offset part of that demand.

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) recorded $42m of outflows. Franklin Templeton's EZBC added $4.6m and Morgan Stanley's MSBT took in $9.7m. Most other funds reported no net movement, leaving the day's result in the hands of a few issuers.

IBIT's widening lead

The concentration fits a longer pattern. Arkham Intelligence's blockchain data showed IBIT's holdings growing by about $1.08bn in Bitcoin terms across the last 20 days, with seven of those sessions positive. Grayscale's GBTC moved the opposite way in that window, reducing its holdings by roughly $254.7m.

In other words, BlackRock's fund kept accumulating while the wider group of products saw repeated withdrawals. Demand is shifting within the category, not only in and out of it.

Those on-chain figures track Bitcoin held by the fund for its investors, not a proprietary bet by BlackRock. When investors buy into the ETF and new shares are created, Bitcoin has to be added to the trust to back them. Redemptions work in reverse.

That distinction matters when reading headline flow numbers. A positive daily total can mask continued selling across much of the market if one or two large funds are absorbing demand. It also leaves the aggregate more dependent on the decisions of investors in a handful of products.

The Fed as the next test

The rebound came immediately before the Federal Reserve's policy meeting on 15 and 16 September. The four straight days of outflows beforehand suggested investors had grown more cautious ahead of the decision, CryptoSlate noted.

A surprise on interest rates, or a change in the central bank's outlook, could shift demand for risk assets and decide whether Monday's inflow becomes a lasting reversal.

Spot ETFs have become one of the main channels through which shifts in macro sentiment reach the Bitcoin market, because flows into and out of the funds translate into purchases and sales of the underlying asset.

What would confirm a turn

The clearest sign of a broader recovery would be inflows spreading beyond IBIT and FBTC in the sessions after the Fed decision. Continued buying in those two alongside weak activity elsewhere would instead reinforce the pattern of BlackRock capturing an outsized share of demand.

Renewed redemptions after the meeting would point the other way, making the $159.9m inflow look more like a pause in the selling than a durable shift.

The reliance on two products sets a higher bar for the recovery case. Monday's positive headline depended on IBIT and FBTC, while ARKB kept losing assets and most rivals stood still.