Bitcoin (BTC) is down 3.6% over the past week, falling from around $119,800 to the $114,500 range at the time of writing. This weakening price action is also reflected in spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), most notably in BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF, which saw over $2.6 billion in outflows on August 1.
According to a recent CryptoQuant Quicktake by contributor Amr Taha, BlackRock’s IBIT ETF recorded more than $2.6 billion in outflows on August 1 – the highest figure in the past two months across all listed Bitcoin ETFs.
For the week ending August 1, US-based spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of $643 million. This marked the end of a seven-week streak of positive inflows, which had totaled more than $10 billion.
Another important point is that the $2.6 billion outflow from BlackRock’s IBIT ETF was not mirrored by other ETFs. Analyst Taha also identified a correlation between IBIT outflows and Binance-origin USDT transfers on the Tron network.
In his analysis, the CryptoQuant contributor noted that alongside the IBIT outflows, USDT transfers on Tron from Binance fell from approximately $2 billion to $1.3 billion – a sharp 35% decline. Taha added:
The timing strongly suggests a link between the ETF-driven selling pressure and the accelerated pace of stablecoin withdrawal via Tron, a blockchain renowned for fast and cost-efficient transactions.
Tron network’s low fees and speed make it a preferred blockchain for both retail and institutional stablecoin transfers. Therefore, a drop in USDT transfers from Binance – occurring in tandem with IBIT outflows – suggests that institutional interest in BTC may be temporarily cooling off.
Recent on-chain data shows Binance continues to lead other exchanges such as OKX, HTX, and KuCoin in terms of Tron-based USDT transfers. As a result, Binance volume trends often serve as a reliable indicator of investor sentiment shifts.
