Just look at what I’ve been noticing in this week’s crypto ETF flows. BlackRock recorded heavy outflows from its bitcoin and ethereum products, totaling about US$ 443 million. The IBIT, BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF, saw withdrawals of around US$ 158 million, but what’s most interesting is that the week began with an inflow of $160.8 million on March 23.

After that, things turned rather chaotic. On March 27, an absurd amount of money left all at once: US$ 201.5 million in a single day from IBIT. Essentially, it wiped out all the gains that had built up. As for ETHA, BlackRock’s ethereum ETF, it fared even worse, with US$ 285.1 million in net withdrawals over the course of the week. Unlike bitcoin, ethereum had steady outflows every day, with the worst day being March 26, when $140.2 million left in one go.

What I found curious is the divergence between the two. The bitcoin ETF, at least, managed to maintain some inflows amid the chaos, signaling that there’s still institutional interest there. Ethereum didn’t have that luck—it was pure capital bleeding. This strongly reflects overall sentiment: investors are cutting risk, not increasing exposure. Bitcoin held support around US$ 65,000 at the time, while ethereum faced greater pressure.

The data shows that when the market becomes uncertain, ETF flows reveal a lot about what truly matters to the big players.