Crypto Markets Struggle Amid Macro Uncertainty, While Ethereum ETFs See Record Inflows

The cryptocurrency market pulled back slightly on Friday, Aug. 15, seemingly reflecting concerns that the recent higher-than-expected inflation data might delay an expected Fed rate cut next month. On the geopolitical front, traders are awaiting the outcome of a meeting between President Trump and President Putin in Alaska today to discuss a possible ceasefire in the Russia-Ukraine war.

Total crypto capitalization fell about 1.3% to roughly $4.02 trillion, with Bitcoin (BTC) flat today, trading at $117,260. Ethereum (ETH) dropped 2.5% to trade around $4,400, bringing its weekly gains to 11%. Between Aug. 13 and Aug. 14, ETH attempted to break through the $4,800 level to reclaim its 2021 all-time high, but met resistance and has since retraced.

Altcoins largely mirrored the decline, with Solana (SOL) down 3.6% to $185, and XRP continuing its decline this week, trading near $3.03.

Spot ETH ETFs Break Records

Despite the pullback, institutional demand continues to provide a floor for the market, especially for ETH. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs.

Even without today’s trading data in, over the past week, spot ETH ETFs have recorded more than $2.9 billion in net inflows, surpassing the previous weekly record of $2.1 billion set in mid-July. ETH ETFs also broke their daily inflow record this week, taking in $1.02 billion on Monday, Aug. 11, per data from SoSoValue. Following Monday’s record, total net inflows into ETH ETFs broke over $500,000 each day since, marking the some of the highest daily inflows for the products.

By comparison, spot Bitcoin ETFs had a weaker week, bringing in a net total of $561.95 million so far this week, suggesting that Wall Street’s focus has increasingly shifted toward Ethereum for now. Yesterday, Aug. 14, was the strongest day this week, with $230.9 million added across BTC products, bringing total net assets to $153.43 billion.

Meanwhile, ETH led 24-hour liquidations at $185 million, followed by Bitcoin at $66.7 million and other altcoins at $43.1 million, according to data from CoinGlass.

Strategic Ambiguity

On the geopolitical front, traders are facing continued uncertainty as U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia President Vladimir Putin prepare to meet later today in Alaska to discuss the Russia-Ukraine war. The White House has called the talks mostly a “listening exercise,” per Reuters, and Trump has reportedly suggested he doesn’t expect an immediate ceasefire.

Earlier this week, Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European leaders that his goals for Friday’s summit were to get a ceasefire and to better understand whether a full peace deal is possible.