Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States saw reduced investor interest on January 22nd as Bitcoin's price retreated to around $102,000. Daily inflows dropped 69% to $248.65 million, according to data from SoSoValue.
BlackRock's IBIT fund emerged as the sole bright spot, attracting $344.28 million in new investments. However, this was offset by outflows from other major funds - Grayscale's GBTC shed $47.93 million, while Bitwise's BITB and ARK 21Shares' ARKB lost $34.67 million and $13.02 million respectively.
Despite the daily slowdown, spot Bitcoin ETFs maintained their positive momentum with four straight days of inflows totaling over $3.5 billion. The total trading volume reached $2.97 billion, with cumulative net inflows since launch standing at $39.23 billion.
The reduced ETF activity coincided with Bitcoin's 3% price decline over 24 hours. Market analysts suggest this could reflect a "sell the news" reaction as initial optimism around potential policy changes may have already been factored into prices.
In related developments, newly appointed interim SEC chair Mark Uyeda established a crypto task force led by Commissioner Hester Peirce. According to Matt Mena, Crypto Research Strategist at 21Shares, this initiative could potentially streamline approvals for a broader range of crypto ETFs beyond Bitcoin, including those linked to other major cryptocurrencies like SOL, XRP, and DOGE.
The task force aims to develop clearer regulatory frameworks and improve industry engagement, potentially creating new pathways for mainstream crypto adoption through regulated investment products.