Overview
- JPMorgan said Thursday that clients are staging a coordinated retreat from the so‑called debasement or devaluation trade, with simultaneous outflows from spot bitcoin and gold ETFs.
- Bitcoin ETF flows turned negative in late May, with some weeks showing more than $1 billion in outflows, a single‑day U.S. spot ETF withdrawal of $648.6 million, and one session logging $145.64 million in redemptions.
- The bank links the pullback to signs that U.S.–Iran tensions are easing and that inflation fears are moderating, which together have reduced the urgency to hold assets seen as protection against currency debasement.
- Those flow shifts have weakened institutional futures positioning and pressured bitcoin’s price, which slid into the mid‑$70,000 range as ETF demand evaporated rather than rotating into gold.
- The reversal follows months of heavy inflows—spot bitcoin ETFs had three straight months of gains and an eight‑day $2.1 billion inflow streak through April—leaving both markets in need of new buyers or narratives to rebuild momentum.