Bitcoin ETFs flip Ethereum in inflows as market cooldown continues

After leading ETF inflows for seven straight days, Ethereum has finally been overtaken by Bitcoin. The shift comes as the broader crypto market shows signs of cooling and investors reassess their positions.

Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs recorded approximately $179 million in inflows on August 28, significantly ahead of Ethereum’s (ETH) $39.2 million, according to data from SoSoValue.

Ark 21Shares’ ARKB led flows with roughly $80 million, followed by BlackRock’s IBIT with $63.7 million, and Bitwise’s BITB with $25 million. Other issuers, including Grayscale and Fidelity, posted more modest numbers, while the remaining seven ETFs recorded no activity.

For Ethereum-tracking funds, only BlackRock’s ETHA and Grayscale’s ETH posted inflows of $67.6 million and $6.3 million, respectively, offset by combined withdrawals of $34.7 million from Fidelity and Bitwise and muted activity across others.

This marks the first time in over a week that Bitcoin ETFs have outpaced Ethereum’s in daily net flows. From August 21 to 27, Ethereum exchange-traded funds brought in a total of $1.83 billion, compared to just $171 million for Bitcoin.

The outperformance boosted Ethereum ETFs’ overall monthly inflows to $3.4 billion, a stark contrast to Bitcoin’s negative $624 million outflows.

Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF flows change as prices waver

The shift in BTC and ETH ETF inflows comes amid broader market uncertainty. Both assets have trended downward in recent days, and the lack of sustained momentum may be prompting investors to reassess their positions.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin trades around $113,200, down nearly 3% over the past 24 hours. The asset dipped near $109,000 earlier in the week and is now roughly 9% below its mid-August all-time high of $124,128.

Ethereum has also seen a sharp retracement after setting a fresh record high of $4,953 on August 24. Hovering around $4,333, ETH is down 5.6% on the day and nearly 13% from that peak, giving back much of the week’s gains despite leading ETF inflows for seven consecutive days.

Meanwhile, Ethereum ETFs remain far behind Bitcoin in terms of overall scale. As of August 28, Bitcoin ETFs hold nearly $145 billion in total net assets, compared to just $29.5 billion for Ethereum.

With inflows slowing and price momentum stalling, Ethereum’s near-term narrative looks less compelling, particularly against Bitcoin’s renewed investor attention. The coming days will determine whether this was a one-day flip or the start of a broader rotation, and it remains to be seen if Bitcoin can maintain this lead moving forward.