Bitcoin slipped below $79,000 on Wednesday. Traders started pricing in a possible Federal Reserve rate hike, and the move came one day after the asset briefly reclaimed $80,000.
The largest cryptocurrency by market value changed hands at roughly $78,759 at publishing time. Down 0.3% over 24 hours, per CoinGecko data cited by Cointelegraph. CoinDesk reported XRP led losses among majors. Every major token except solana and BNB sat flat or lower.
The tape tells a mixed story. Bitcoin pushed above $80,000 on Tuesday, then gave the level back. Profit-taking did part of the work. Concern over a possible U.S. interest-rate hike did the rest, Bloomingbit reported.
ETF inflows cool after eight-day streak
The institutional bid lost some heat. U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds drew $232.1 million in net inflows on Wednesday. That marked the smallest daily total since Aug. 18 and a roughly 26% drop from Tuesday’s $314.4 million, Cointelegraph reported, citing SoSoValue data.
The snap lower followed an eight-day streak that pulled in about $2.8 billion and trimmed year-to-date net outflows to roughly $2.03 billion. Cumulative net inflows for the category now stand at $54.6 billion. Total net assets: $98.6 billion.
No outflows yet, though. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index rose to 71 from 65 a day earlier, holding in “Greed” territory, per Alternative.me.
XRP funds see largest draw since January
XRP led spot losses among majors, CoinDesk reported. The token’s fund complex told a different story.
U.S.-listed spot XRP ETFs attracted $28.1 million on Wednesday, the biggest daily inflow since Jan. 5, Cointelegraph reported, citing SoSoValue. Cumulative net inflows for XRP funds reached $1.62 billion.
Spot ether ETFs extended their run as well. An eighth consecutive day of inflows at $192.4 million, per SoSoValue.
Cooling bitcoin flows on one side. Fresh XRP demand on the other. The split is the clearest signal yet that macro rate expectations are colliding with still-strong institutional appetite, even as traders place their bets on a Fed hike.
Holders, as ever, are divided.
