Tariff-Driven Uncertainty Causes Crypto Investors to Pull Back from Spot Bitcoin, Ether ETFs

Key Points:

• BlackRock’s IBIT saw the largest outflows in spot BTC ETFs.

• Withdrawals happened despite a price rally following the 90-day pause on U.S. tariffs for most countries.

U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) ETFs faced outflows on Wednesday, even as the prices of the cryptocurrencies rose after President Donald Trump revealed a 90-day tariff suspension for most countries, excluding China.

The 11 Bitcoin ETFs saw a combined outflow of $127.2 million, with BlackRock's IBIT accounting for $89.7 million of that loss, according to data from Farside Investors. This marked the fifth straight day of withdrawals, bringing the total outflow to $722 million over that period.

Ether ETFs have also lost favor with investors, as the nine funds experienced a net outflow of $11.2 million on Wednesday.

The declining demand is likely due to the macroeconomic uncertainty driven by U.S.-China trade tensions and volatility in the bond markets, which probably prompted macro investors to sell off various assets, including crypto ETFs, in favor of holding cash.

Markets rebounded sharply on Wednesday after Trump announced a 90-day pause on tariffs for over 75 nations that did not retaliate to his broad duties introduced a week ago. However, China, which recently imposed heavy retaliatory tariffs on U.S. goods, did not receive any relief, as Trump raised the total levy on Chinese goods to 125%.

Bitcoin, the leading cryptocurrency by market value, surged more than 8% to $83,500, while ether, the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, jumped 13% to $1,770, alongside significant gains in the altcoin market. Meanwhile, Wall Street's tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 index soared over 12%, marking its biggest single-day percentage increase in decades.