In a shocking development, the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) market ended on Monday with zero inflows. Notably, this development took place on a day full of hype that was expected to bring fresh cryptocurrency adoption to the U.S.
Institutional pullback dampens BTC momentum
Data from Farside Investors show zero inflows from all asset managers. Even top asset managers like BlackRock, Fidelity Investments and Bitwise recorded no interest from institutional investors.
This significant development appears to have affected the disposition of market participants toward the leading digital asset.
The ETF market had closed on Friday with $1.072 billion as institutional players positioned ahead of the pending inauguration. BlackRock, Fidelity and Bitwise led the market performance with $375.9 million, $326.3 million and $208.1 million, respectively.
This triggered speculation that institutional interests would continue to soar as a new administration came onboard in key U.S. para-state organizations. However, the reality on the market has not mirrored the projection.
Bitcoin (BTC) hit an all-time high (ATH) of $109,114.88 a day before the inauguration and has been on a downward slope. As of this writing, BTC is changing hands at $103,759.10, which is a 4.18% decline in the last 24 hours. The trading volume has also dropped by 3.35% to $106.14 billion.
Impact on Bitcoin’s future trajectory
Analysts see this cautious approach by institutional players as likely to impact the upward movement of BTC. They maintain that unless the new U.S. government makes a clear policy statement on the Bitcoin Reserve, the enthusiasm might begin to wane.
Such a scenario could affect the predictions that have been made by financial experts for the digital asset.
However, this waning interest from institutional players appears not to have affected retail investors. As reported by U.Today, there has been an uptick in interest from retail investors. These new entrants looking to buy Bitcoin have hit an ATH in specific Google searches about the asset.