ETF Bitcoin Record $450.4M Outflows After CLARITY Act Vote

The 13 Bitcoin spot ETFs listed in the United States recorded net outflows of $450.4 million on Tuesday, September 15, according to data from Farside Investors. A level rarely reached in recent months. On the same day, the US Senate failed to gather the 60 votes necessary to advance the CLARITY Act.

The vote on the CLARITY Act takes place in an already tense session 

A Bitcoin spot ETF directly holds bitcoin to follow its price, rather than using derivative products. Since their launch in the United States in January 2024, these funds have become an important way for institutional investors to gain exposure to BTC.

The CLARITY Act was intended notably to clarify the division of responsibilities between US regulators and to give more responsibilities to the CFTC. The bill did not pass the procedural step on Tuesday: 49 senators voted in favor and 50 against, while 60 votes were needed, according to NPR.

However, it remains difficult to directly attribute ETF outflows to the Senate vote. Bitcoin also declined during the session, which likely influenced investor behavior.

Fidelity and BlackRock account for the bulk of outflows

With $214.8 million in outflows, Fidelity’s FBTC represents nearly half of the amount recorded on Tuesday. BlackRock’s IBIT follows with $161.7 million. Together, these two funds account for 83.6% of the day’s outflows.

Grayscale’s GBTC comes next with $44.1 million, ahead of ARK 21Shares with $17.4 million and Bitwise with $12.4 million.

These figures come as bitcoin was already under pressure. Cointelegraph reported a BTC around $75,700, down 2.5% over 24 hours. Meanwhile, CoinGecko shows $75,846, a decline of 1.6% over 24 hours, at the time of writing this article. 

Investors now await the Fed

Tuesday’s session heavily weighed on September’s flows. Between September 8 and 15, ETFs thus show a negative balance of $753.2 million. Since the beginning of the month, the balance remains slightly positive, at $16.8 million.

The next important appointment is now that of the Federal Reserve. Its monetary policy committee meets on September 15 and 16, according to the Fed’s official calendar. The decision is expected today. 

A possible rate cut could change investor behavior on risky assets, but it does not affect the CLARITY Act schedule. The bill could, however, come back to the table, with Republican Senator Thom Tillis having filed a motion to reintroduce it after Tuesday’s vote, described as decisive for crypto regulation.

For Bitcoin ETFs, the next data to monitor will thus be Wednesday’s flows, after the Fed’s decision. The crypto market has already reacted to the failure of the CLARITY Act.