Wintermute: BTC ETF sees its first net outflow since June, as the market awaits the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision

According to Wintermute OTC trader @Jjay_dm, the BTC ETF experienced a net outflow of $463 million, marking the first negative value since the low in June, with ARK and Grayscale accounting for a combined outflow of $371 million, while BlackRock remained flat. As a result, BTC fell 4.4% over the week, closing at $76,838, making it the worst-performing asset, while Ethereum dropped 1.5%, and altcoins overall rose by 1%.

On a macro level, the U.S. August CPI recorded a month-on-month increase of 0.4% (core 0.3%), higher than the expected 0.2%, and the PPI annual rate reached 5.4%, prompting Goldman Sachs to change its September forecast from "hold steady" to "raise interest rates." The market's expectation for a 25bp rate hike on Wednesday has risen to 87%. Meanwhile, the situation in the Middle East continues to escalate, with Brent crude oil surpassing $105 per barrel, and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hitting a 20-year high.

Wintermute stated that after the ETF fund outflow turned negative, it tends to hold a neutral rather than bullish stance on the market. This week has two key events: ① On Tuesday, the U.S. Senate will conduct a procedural vote on the CLARITY Act (the cryptocurrency market structure bill), which requires 60 votes to pass; ② On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve will announce its interest rate decision, with the rate hike itself already priced in, but subsequent hawkish statements (especially signals regarding continued rate hikes in the first quarter of 2027) may pose downward pressure on the cryptocurrency market.