Bitcoin ETFs switch to outflows as Trump’s tariffs shake markets

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. shifted to outflows on Feb. 3 as Bitcoin dipped to a three-week low, as the risk of a trade war spooked investors and caused over $2 billion in liquidation in the crypto derivatives market.

According to data from SoSoValue, the 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of $234.54 million on Monday, Feb. 3 ending their four-day inflow streak that drew in over $1 billion into the funds.

The majority of outflows came from Fidelity’s FBTC which saw $177.64 million exit the fund followed by ARK and 21shares’s ARKB which logged $50.75 million in outflows. VanEck’s HODL and Bitwise’s BITB also contributed to the negative momentum with $8.63 million and $5.54 million withdrawn by investors.

Grayscale’s GBTC saw a rare inflow of $8.02 million, its first since Jan. 17. Notably, on most previous trading days, it recorded either outflows or zero flows, accumulating a net outflow of $21.88 billion since its launch due to its higher fees compared to other ETFs.

The remaining Bitcoin ETFs, including BlackRock’s IBIT—the largest BTC ETF by net assets with total net inflows exceeding $40 billion—recorded zero flows for the day.

Despite significant outflows, Bitcoin ETFs saw a surge in trading activity, with daily volume rising to $5.88 billion from $3.45 billion the previous day.

Meanwhile, the outflows from BTC ETFs followed President Donald Trump’s announcement of new tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China over the weekend, set to take effect on Tuesday. The market reaction fueled fears of a global trade war, leading to the global crypto market briefly shedding over $500 billion in value and witnessing over $2 billion in liquidations in the derivatives market.

Following the news, Bitcoin (BTC) dropped from around $105,000 on Jan. 31 to a three-week low of $91,441 on Feb. 3, as the broader crypto market declined nearly 10%, with most major cryptocurrencies recording losses of around 20%.

However, the leading crypto asset managed to recover some of its losses, briefly surging past $100,000 on Feb. 4 before settling at $99,047 as of press time. The recovery followed an agreement between Trump and the presidents of Mexico and Canada to suspend the tariffs for one month.

Meanwhile, on Monday, Trump signed an executive order mandating the creation of a sovereign wealth fund within the next year. The crypto community speculates that the U.S. may use the fund to purchase Bitcoin.