Bitcoin ETFs Face $74M Outflows Amid Tariff Fears

Bitcoin ETFs experienced outflows on March 3, as market jitters over U.S. tariffs and a proposed crypto reserve fund drove a risk-off sentiment. According to data from SoSoValue, 12 spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $74.19 million in outflows, reversing the previous day's net inflows of $94.34 million.

BlackRock's IBIT led the outflows for the third consecutive day, with $77.97 million in net redemptions. Grayscale's GBTC also continued its outflow trend, with $54.39 million withdrawn by investors. However, ARK and 21Shares' arkb bucked the trend with $58.18 million in net inflows. The remaining nine BTC ETFs saw no activity on the day.

The total daily trading volume for these investment products stood at $5.99 billion on March 3, while total net inflows since their launch amounted to $36.97 billion as of press time. Meanwhile, nine Ethereum ETFs recorded their eighth consecutive day of outflows, with $12.10 million exiting the funds.

The significant outflows from these ETFs come amid a risk-off sentiment among investors, driven by U.S. President Donald Trump's confirmation of 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico starting March 4, and a 10% tariff on Chinese imports taking effect the same day. Additionally, concerns stem from Trump's announcement of plans to establish a U.S. Crypto Strategic Reserve, which has drawn criticism from the crypto community.

Bitcoin (BTC) surged 11% to an intraday high of $94,770 on Monday but retraced 9.5% to trade at $84,011 at press time as investors adopted a risk-off stance amid escalating trade tensions and concerns over the feasibility of the strategic reserve plan. Ethereum (ETH) also took a hit, dropping 13.8% over the past day to $2,098 at the time of writing.

Matt Mena, crypto research strategist at 21Shares, told crypto.news that the market reaction is driven by "renewed fears of inflation and economic uncertainty," but he believes the selloff is an overre