What do ETH and BTC ETFs convey about ongoing market trends?

• Ethereum ETFs outperformed Bitcoin ETFs, attracting $420M in inflows in early February.
• Market volatility rises amid tariff war, DeepSeek disruption, and shifting ETF flows.

The crypto market remains in a state of uncertainty, with no clear bullish or bearish direction, largely due to heightened volatility.

This is all because of two major events that have contributed to this turbulence—the ongoing tariff war and the disruption caused by DeepSeek in the crypto space.

Adding to the uncertainty, former U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced plans for ‘reciprocal tariffs’ on multiple countries, with further details expected by 10 or 11 February.

Thus, with the rise in global economic tensions, the cryptocurrency market has borne the impact, reflecting the broader instability shaping financial markets.

Impact on Bitcoin ETFs

Amid ongoing market turbulence, the spot Bitcoin [BTC] ETF sector has also experienced significant fluctuations.

According to the latest data from Farside Investors, spot BTC ETFs saw an inflow of $171.3 million on the 7th of February, following a sharp outflow of $140.2 million the previous day.

Leading the inflows was Invesco’s BTCO, which attracted $59 million, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC with $52.5 million.

BlackRock’s IBIT and VanEck’s HODL saw nearly identical inflows of $21.9 million and $21.8 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, some ETFs, including Grayscale’s GBTC, remained stagnant with zero recorded flows, highlighting the uneven investor sentiment in the sector.

This aligned with Bitcoin trading in the green at $97,823.02, at press time. This marked a 1.12% increase in the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap.

What about Ethereum ETFs?

Meanwhile, Ethereum [ETH] ETFs, which had maintained a consistent inflow streak since the 30th of January, recorded zero flows for the first time, as per Farside Investors.

This coincided with ETH trading in the red at $2,657.87, at press time. This reflected a marginal 0.06% decline, as per CoinMarketCap.

The contrasting trends underscore how Ethereum ETFs have been drawing increased attention, even as Bitcoin leads in price movement.

The first week of February saw ETH ETFs outpacing their BTC counterparts, with inflows reaching $420 million compared to Bitcoin ETFs’ $173 million, as per data from SoSo Value and Farside Investors.

However, analysts at Coinbase, including David Han and David Duong, suggests that the trend is largely fueled by institutional players engaging in ETH ‘basis trade.’

Therefore, as the market navigates ongoing volatility, Ethereum’s rising prominence in the ETF space signals a potential shift in investor strategies, shaping future market dynamics.