Crypto Market Turmoil: Trump's Tariff Plans Spark Volatility, Bitcoin ETFs See Mixed Flows

The cryptocurrency market continues to grapple with uncertainty, as volatility persists and no clear bullish or bearish direction emerges. This state of affairs can be attributed to two significant events: the ongoing tariff war and the disruption caused by DeepSeek in the crypto space. Adding to the uncertainty, former U.S. President Donald Trump recently announced plans for 'eciprocal tariffs' on multiple countries, with further details expected by 10 or 11 February. Consequently, the cryptocurrency market has felt the impact of rising global economic tensions, reflecting the broader instability shaping financial markets.

Amidst this market turbulence, the spot Bitcoin [BTC] ETF sector has also experienced notable fluctuations. According to the latest data, spot BTC ETFs saw an inflow of $171.3 million on the 7th of February, following a sharp outflow of $140.2 million the previous day. Leading the inflows was Invesco’s BTCO, which attracted $59 million, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC with $52.5 million. BlackRock’s IBIT and VanEck’s HODL saw nearly identical inflows of $21.9 million and $21.8 million, respectively. Meanwhile, some ETFs, including Grayscale’s GBTC, remained stagnant with zero recorded flows, highlighting the uneven investor sentiment in the sector. This aligned with Bitcoin trading in the green at $97,823.02, at press time, marking a 1.12% increase in the past 24 hours.

In contrast, Ethereum [ETH] ETFs, which had maintained a consistent inflow streak since the 30th of January, recorded zero flows for the first time. This coincided with ETH trading in the red at $2,657.87, at press time, reflecting a marginal 0.06% decline. The contrasting trends underscore how Ethereum ETFs have been drawing increased attention, even as Bitcoin leads in price movement. The first week of February saw ETH ETFs outpacing their BTC counterparts, with inflows reaching $420 million compared to Bitcoin ETFs’ $173 million. However, analysts suggest that the trend is largely fueled by institutional players engaging in ETH 'basis trade.'