On Monday, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs experienced a total net loss of $231 million, with BlackRock's IBIT alone contributing to $300 million of that outflow. This was somewhat mitigated by other funds, such as ARKB, which saw an inflow of $50 million, and GBTC, which gained $35 million, according to data from SoSoValue.
This decline in bitcoin demand comes at a time when risk appetite is increasing in other markets. On Tuesday, Wall Street's tech rally spread to Asia, with the MSCI Asia Pacific index rising by 1% on the last trading day of the year. This increase was bolstered by a rebound in the semiconductor sector, helping the S&P 500 break a five-day losing streak. The Asian index is poised for its largest quarterly gain in nearly 17 years.
South Korea's Kospi, which suffered a 10% drop in a single day earlier this month, rose by 2.1%, solidifying its position as the top-performing major benchmark globally this year. Samsung's stock has surged over 100% this quarter, while SK Hynix has seen an impressive increase of nearly 240% since April. Meanwhile, the yen has fallen to its lowest point against the dollar since 1986, indicating that investors are financing their AI investments by borrowing in yen.
However, bitcoin ETFs are not benefiting from this shift in capital. The same AI infrastructure investments that are leading to record earnings in Seoul and Tokyo are competing for the funds that might typically be directed toward bitcoin, a trend highlighted in recent discussions around companies like SpaceX, Anthropic, and the semiconductor industry.