Institutional demand for crypto ETFs accelerated significantly on March 13, with total inflows into US spot crypto ETFs reaching approximately $124.89 million in a single trading day.
The cryptocurrency market strengthened overall that day due to concerns about stagflation and weak GDP data. The shift in the Coinbase premium, accompanied by an afternoon rally, now has a clearer explanation: BlackRock and Fidelity are actively buying in large quantities.
BlackRock and Fidelity Drove Most of the Gains
The inflows mainly came from two major institutional players. BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF purchased 657 BTC worth $46.1 million and added 9,118 ETH worth $18.7 million, accounting for the majority of Bitcoin ETF inflows and a significant portion of Ethereum ETF inflows. Fidelity's ETF purchased 218 BTC worth $15.3 million and added 25,354 ETH worth $52 million. Fidelity's Ethereum purchase alone accounted for the largest share of single-institution ETH acquisition on the day (in dollar value).
The two companies collectively purchased $132.1 million worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum, a figure that actually exceeds the total net ETF inflows after deducting XRP outflows and zero-flow categories. This means that other ETF providers experienced slight net outflows on the day, while BlackRock and Fidelity provided net positive flows that exceeded the overall level.
Ethereum Data Deserves Special Attention
XRP ETF saw outflows of $6.08 million, while XRP rose 4.44% in the spot market, an anomaly worth noting. One explanation is that some ETF holders took advantage of the price advantage to profit through regulated channels, while spot buyers on offshore exchanges independently pushed up the price. Another explanation is that the outflows reflect rebalancing activities rather than targeted operations against XRP. This is small relative to overall flows, but the divergence between spot price increases and ETF outflows on the same trading day is often more important in retrospect than it appears at the time.
Regardless of the nuances of XRP, the overall flow situation on March 13 was clear. More than $124 million in net institutional capital flowed into US spot crypto ETFs, with the world's two largest asset management companies buying Bitcoin and Ethereum on the same day, while US economic data was weak. ETF proponents believe that this combination of macro catalysts and institutional execution is what defines the next phase of cryptocurrency adoption.