Massive Bitcoin & Ether ETF Sell-Off Hits

Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Bleed Millions

7th August 2025 • 10 mins read

This Week’s Recap

Bitcoin ETFs Bleed Millions for 4th Straight Day as U.S. Stagflation Fears Weigh on BTC and Stocks Investors withdrew $196 million from U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETFs on Tuesday, marking the fourth consecutive day of redemptions. This outflow coincided with weaker-than-expected U.S. services PMI data, stoking stagflation concerns across risk assets.
Bitcoin and Gold ETFs Combined Break $500 B Barrier The combined assets under management of gold and Bitcoin ETFs surpassed $500 billion for the first time, with Bitcoin ETFs at $162 billion and gold ETFs at $325 billion. Strong July inflows and record BTC prices fueled the milestone, underscoring growing mainstream adoption.
Crypto ETFs See Record $12.8 B Inflows in July as Market Rallies to New Highs U.S.-listed crypto ETFs attracted $12.8 billion in net inflows during July, the strongest month on record. BlackRock’s IBIT led Bitcoin products with assets topping $86 billion, while Ethereum ETFs also saw significant gains. The approval of in-kind creation/redemption is credited for bolstering institutional confidence.

ETF Options Market Now Prices Higher Risk for ETH Than BTC ETH options traders are paying a premium on puts relative to calls, signaling greater hedging demand versus Bitcoin. This skew suggests caution despite Ethereum’s recent rally in July, when ETH surged 48 percent.
BlackRock leads record $465M spot Ether ETF Monday exodus: US spot Ether ETFs recorded a net outflow of $465 million on August 5, 2025, marking the largest single-day withdrawal since their launch, led by BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust. The pullback ended a 20-day inflow streak that brought in $5.43 billion during July and coincided with a 12 percent weekend drop in ETH prices.
Ethereum Touted as Foundational Layer After $264.5M SharpLink Buy: SharpLink added $264.5 million of ETH to its treasury between July 28 and August 3, 2025, lifting holdings to nearly 522 000 ETH. The purchase highlights growing institutional conviction in Ethereum’s role as a foundational layer for decentralized finance.
US SEC says certain liquid staking activities fall outside of securities laws: On August 5, 2025, the SEC issued a staff statement clarifying that specific liquid staking practices do not constitute securities offerings. This guidance aims to reduce legal ambiguity for staking protocols and token issuers, potentially broadening participation in DeFi services.
Former Chancellor Osborne warns UK is ‘completely left behind’ on crypto: In an August 5, 2025 op-ed, George Osborne criticized the UK’s cautious regulatory approach, arguing it risks trailing global crypto hubs in innovation and stablecoin frameworks. He urged authorities to adopt clear legal rules similar to those in the US and EU to remain competitive. Osborne’s comments coincided with the ASA’s ban of Coinbase’s “Everything Is Fine” campaign.
Hong Kong launches comprehensive stablecoin licensing regime under HKMA: Effective August 1, 2025, the HKMA’s framework requires all local stablecoin issuers to obtain licenses, maintain full reserve backing, and adhere to AML/CTF standards. The regime also introduces a public registry of authorized issuers and detailed governance guidelines. Industry feedback will be solicited through year-end before final enforcement.

JPMorgan activates 24/7 blockchain settlements via Kinexys, Marex first clearing partner: On August 6, 2025, JPMorgan’s Kinexys platform began round-the-clock settlement services, with Marex as the inaugural clearing firm. The service aims to reduce transaction times, costs, and counterparty risk using blockchain rails. Rival banks are reportedly considering similar 24/7 models after Kinexys’s early success.
Deutsche Bank plans crypto custody launch in 2026 with Bitpanda and Taurus: Deutsche Bank has partnered with Bitpanda and Taurus to offer a white-label crypto custody service by mid-2026 catering to European wealth managers. The collaboration underscores legacy banks’ move into regulated digital-asset services. The service will feature institutional-grade security and compliance safeguards.
Galaxy Digital taps Zodia Custody to expand staking services in Europe: Galaxy Digital integrated Zodia Custody to broaden its BTC and ETH staking offerings across European markets. The partnership provides qualified investors with insurance wraps and governance oversight. It reflects growing institutional demand for yield-bearing crypto products amid regulatory clarity.

Crypto carnage continues even as gold, bonds surge on soft U.S. jobs data: Bitcoin and equities slumped following weaker-than-expected August nonfarm payrolls, while gold and Treasuries rallied. Risk assets broadly declined, with BTC down 1.3 percent and ETH off 3.7 percent. Traders now debate whether the Fed will shift to rate cuts later this year.
Asia morning briefing: Bitcoin drops to $115 k as whale sells, tariff woes deepen: Large inflows of 70 000 BTC onto exchanges signaled whale profit-taking in Asian markets, tipping BTC below $115 000. U.S. tariff announcements compounded selling pressure early Friday. Markets are now focused on upcoming Fed minutes for policy clues.

FinCEN issues warning on Bitcoin ATMs used in scams: The U.S. Treasury’s FinCEN alerted the public on August 5, 2025 to a rise in scams using Bitcoin kiosks, with 2024 losses approaching $247 million. Fraudsters exploit ATM withdrawals followed by untraceable crypto transfers. Regulators urged ATM operators to tighten KYC checks and consumers to verify machine legitimacy before transacting.
Man fails to buy landfill with his lost $923M Bitcoin—here’s his new plan: A Newport resident who lost keys to 8 000 BTC devised a tokenization scheme to reclaim his fortune but faced legal and regulatory obstacles. His revised plan involves issuing partially backed tokens to fund community development projects. The saga underscores the complexities of on-chain asset recovery and investor protection.
China’s DCEP pilot expands to 10 additional provinces: The People’s Bank of China extended digital yuan trials to ten more provinces on August 3, 2025, aiming to broaden CBDC adoption in major economic regions. Retail merchants reported a 30 percent month-over-month increase in digital yuan transactions. The expansion intensifies competition in the global CBDC landscape.

Bitcoin Market Analysis

Over the past week bitcoin traded between a low of $112,293 and a high of $118,669. The price action reflected a test of the $112,000 support level after breaking out of the $100,000-112,000 sideways channel last month. Volume spiked during the pullback, indicating active participation as the market filled the gap between $112,000 and $117,000 created on July 10.

Source: CryptoQuant

Technical indicators show a neutral RSI-14 near 48, a bearish MACD with histogram bars rising toward the signal line, and an ADX reading around 20 indicating a weak directional trend; the Ultimate Oscillator remains bullish and price sits between the lower Bollinger Band at $112,493.47 and the upper band at $120,818.15. Short-term moving averages (5-day, 10-day) are trending down, while mid- and long-term averages (20-day, 50-day, 200-day) maintain upward slopes. This mixed signal profile suggests momentum may be bottoming and a renewed uptrend could emerge if key support holds.

Given the medium-term uptrend and confirmed polarity flip at $112,000, dip buying near that support may offer a favorable entry; failure to hold could see a deeper retracement toward $100,000. On the upside, resistance levels at $121,000, $128,000 and $136,000 derived from Fibonacci extension targets provide logical profit-taking zones. Traders should monitor price behavior around $112,000 support and watch for a MACD crossover or RSI stabilization above 50 to signal renewed bullish momentum.

Amid this technical backdrop, institutional flows have begun to shift. This week marks the second consecutive week of net outflows from bitcoin spot ETFs, ending a seven-week streak of inflows from June 13 to July 25. Outflows totaled $643.0M in the week to August 1 and $437.8M in the week to August 6, driving total net assets down from $151.5B to $148.5B. The timing of these outflows which coincide with bitcoin’s rejection near $122,000 on July 14 and subsequent sideways trading around $115,000 suggests institutions are taking profits during the consolidation.

Source: https://sosovalue.com/assets/etf/us-btc-spot

As of early August 2025, Bitcoin spot ETFs have amassed $162 billion in assets under management, roughly half the $325 billion held by gold ETFs. Bitcoin’s market capitalization sits at about $2.259 trillion, while gold’s stands near $23.5 trillion. As a result, Bitcoin ETF AUM represents approximately 7.2 percent of its underlying market cap versus about 1.4 percent for gold ETFs. This five-fold difference in ETF penetration highlights how institutional investors have embraced Bitcoin products more aggressively than gold. Despite Bitcoin’s market cap being roughly one-tenth that of gold, its ETFs have captured half the AUM of gold ETFs, which shows a strong shift in asset allocation. Looking ahead, the relatively high ETF market share in Bitcoin suggests significant room for further growth as regulatory clarity improves and mainstream investors diversify into digital-asset products.

Source: https://bold.report/compare/holdings

Ethereum Market Analysis

Over the past week Ethereum traded between a low of $3,358 and a high of $3,874. After reclaiming the 200-day moving average near $2,500, ETH rallied toward the critical $4,000 resistance before profit-taking drove a pullback into the $3,450 area. Volume spiked on the pullback, highlighting active participation around that key level.

Source: https://altfins.com/technical-analysis

Technical indicators paint a mixed but constructive picture. The 14-period RSI sits near 60, indicating neither overbought nor oversold conditions. MACD remains below its signal line, yet rising histogram bars suggest bearish momentum may be inflecting toward a turn higher. The Ultimate Oscillator is bullish, and price remains between the lower and upper Bollinger Bands ($3,444–$3,925), implying the move is still within normal volatility bounds.

The $3,450 level once resistance, now acts as support, offers a potential dip-buy entry; failure to hold it could expose $3,000 as the next floor. On the upside, a renewed break above $4,000 would target last December’s high near $4,100. From a fundamental perspective, the prospect of U.S. regulators approving spot ETH ETFs with staking privileges later this year could unlock further institutional inflows and propel the next leg of upside.

Over the past fourteen weeks Ethereum spot ETFs have accumulated a cumulative $9.13 billion in net inflows, up from $2.51 billion on May 2, 2025. Weekly inflows peaked at $907.99 million on July 11 and remained strong through July 25, driving total net assets from $6.40 billion to $20.11 billion by August 1. Trading volume also expanded, topping $10.57 billion in mid-July before easing to $4.09 billion in the week to August 6, 2025.

Source: https://sosovalue.com/assets/etf/us-eth-spot

This week saw a net outflow of $356.72 million following a $154.32 million inflow in the prior week, marking the first withdrawal after seven consecutive weeks of positive flows. Notably on Monday, August 4, U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recorded their largest single-day outflow to date at $465 million, driven largely by $375 million withdrawn from BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust and $55 million from Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund. Total net assets dipped from $20.11 billion on August 1 to $20.61 billion on August 6, reflect

What Polymarket tells us about the September Rate cut

In early August betting markets dramatically repriced their expectations for a September Fed rate cut. On platforms like Polymarket the probability of a 25 bp reduction soared from roughly 40 percent in mid-July to nearly 80 percent, reflecting traders’ swift reaction to the July nonfarm payroll report missing forecasts and a rise in the unemployment rate.

This recalibration was reinforced by July’s ISM services PMI slipping to 50.1, just above the expansion threshold, and manufacturing activity remaining in contraction at 48.0. Together these indicators cemented market conviction that the Fed will pivot to easing at the September meeting, marking the likely end of its tightening cycle for now. For Bitcoin this shift could prove supportive by lowering borrowing costs and boosting liquidity into risk assets, potentially fueling renewed upside as investors seek higher-yielding alternatives. Conversely, if the Fed were to hold rates steady despite these signals, Bitcoin could experience short-term volatility as markets recalibrate their policy outlook.