Update (Dec. 30, 11:25pm UTC): This article has been updated to reflect that there are two trading days of Bitcoin ETF flow data to come in before 2024 ends.
United States spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds are set to close the year with a staggering inflow tally, clocking $38.3 billion in net inflows with just two trading days left to the end of 2024.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) leads the pack with $37.31 billion in net inflows, while the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) and the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) rounded out the top three with $11.84 billion and $2.49 billion, followed by Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) $2.19 billion, according to Farside Investors.
With two trading days of spot Bitcoin ETF flow data to come in for the year, net inflows have already smashed an earlier $14 billion first-year estimate from Galaxy Digital’s research head Alex Thorn.
However, the spot Bitcoin ETFs haven’t finished too strong toward the year’s end, seeing a combined $1.33 billion in outflows from Dec. 19 to 27.
Five of the last six trading days have been net outflows, with IBIT seeing its largest outflow of $188.7 million on Dec. 24.
Spot Bitcoin ETF flow data from Dec. 19 to Dec. 27. Source: Farside Investors
An Oct. 25 report from cryptocurrency exchange Binance found that nearly 80% of demand for the spot Bitcoin ETFs had come from retail, not institutions.
However, industry analysts such as Bitwise’s chief investment officer Matt Hougan expect to see more institutional involvement in 2025 when more clearinghouses for spot Bitcoin ETF trading come online.
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It is one of the catalysts behind Bitwise’s bullish $200,000 Bitcoin price estimate for 2025, while VanEck expects Bitcoin to top $180,000.
Ether ETFs end on a strong note
The spot Ether ETH $3,332.87 ETFs have seen a total of $2.68 billion in net inflows since the Ethereum products launched on July 23, according to Farside Investors.
Excluding outflows from the converted Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE) would bump that figure up to $6.29 billion.
BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) and the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) lead net inflows at $3.52 billion and $1.56 billion.
The low-fee Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH) finished with the third most net inflows at $608.1 million, while the Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW) recently passed the $400 million milestone.
Spot Bitcoin ETF flow data from Dec. 19 to Dec. 27. Source: Farside Investors
While ETH has underperformed Bitcoin and Solana SOL $188.42 in 2024, Bitwise expects it to bounce back in 2025 and hit a high of $7,000.
Hougan and Bitwise’s Bitcoin research head Ryan Rasmussen attributed the estimated rise to increased activity on Ethereum layer 2s, more spot Ether ETF flows and “massive growth” in stablecoins and real-world asset tokenization.
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Additional reporting by Ciaran Lyons.