Bitcoin ETF Attracts $167 Million, Gold Faces Sell-Off, Signs of Capital Rotation Emerge

Gate News, March 24 — U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF saw a net inflow of $167 million, ending three consecutive days of outflows and helping to restore market confidence. Meanwhile, the gold market experienced significant fund withdrawals, with the SPDR Gold ETF (GLD) hitting a new monthly outflow record, indicating waning interest in traditional safe-haven assets.

As of March 20, Bitcoin ETFs have seen four consecutive weeks of net inflows, totaling approximately $1.53 billion. In contrast, Ethereum ETFs recorded a net outflow of $16.18 million on Monday, marking four days of continuous fund outflows, reflecting divergence among institutional investors across mainstream cryptocurrencies.

The correlation structure has also shifted. Data from CryptoQuant shows Bitcoin’s correlation with gold briefly dropped to -0.88, a new low since the FTX incident in 2022. Currently, Bitcoin remains above $70,000, while gold has entered a correction phase, with their price movements diverging significantly.

On the macro front, the Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and expects rates to stay around 3.4% through the end of 2026. Higher real interest rates increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets, prompting some funds to shift from gold to assets with growth potential. In early March, GLD experienced a single-day outflow of $2.91 billion; by mid-March, global gold funds had collectively withdrawn about $5.19 billion over the week.

Bitwise notes that since March, Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies have outperformed U.S. stocks and gold. Historically, gold tends to lead Bitcoin by about 4 to 7 months, but whether this divergence indicates a long-term capital rotation remains to be seen, depending on interest rate trajectories and developments in the Middle East.