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US Spot ETF Cumulative Money Flow

Cumulative USD flow for US spot ETFs from Jan 2024

PropertyValue
CategoryETF Analytics
UnitUSD
Resolution1d
AssetsBTC
TierBasic
API EndpointGET /v1/etf/aggregate
Fieldus_spot_cumulative_money_flow

Overview​

US Spot ETF Cumulative Money Flow tracks the total USD-denominated capital deployed through US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs, starting from the SEC approval date of January 10, 2024. On that date, all existing US ETF BTC holdings (including GBTC's legacy balance of 621,499 BTC) are seeded at the day's BTC price ($46,220), establishing a clean "ETF era" baseline. From January 11 onwards, each day's net US ETF BTC flow is valued at that day's BTC price and accumulated.

This metric is the numerator for the US Spot ETF Realized Price calculation. It answers: "How much USD-equivalent capital is represented by US spot ETF holdings, treating the entire cohort as born on SEC approval day?"

Why reset at Jan 10, 2024? GBTC held BTC since 2013 as a closed-end trust with no creation/redemption mechanism. Its historical cost basis spans over a decade of vastly different market conditions. By resetting all US holdings to the approval-day price, this metric provides a consistent USD flow measure that reflects the post-SEC-approval market dynamics shared by all 11 US spot ETFs.

Formula​

US Spot Cumulative Money Flowt=US BTC2024-01-10×$46,220+∑d=2024-01-11t(ΔUS BTCd×Priced)\text{US Spot Cumulative Money Flow}_{t} = \text{US BTC}_{2024\text{-}01\text{-}10} \times \$46{,}220 + \sum_{d=2024\text{-}01\text{-}11}^{t} (\Delta\text{US BTC}_{d} \times \text{Price}_{d})

  • The seed value represents the USD "cost" of all initial US ETF holdings at the approval-day price
  • Subsequent daily contributions = net change in US ETF BTC × that day's BTC price
  • Data is NULL for dates before January 10, 2024

Interpretation​

  • Rising cumulative flow: Net new USD capital entering US spot ETFs — the steeper the rise, the stronger the inflow momentum.
  • Flat cumulative flow: Inflows and outflows are balanced — neutral positioning.
  • Declining cumulative flow: Net USD leaving US spot ETFs — bearish, represents capital withdrawal.
  • Compare with global Cumulative Money Flow: Shows whether US flows are driving or lagging the global trend.
  • Compare with US ETF AUM: AUM−Cumulative Money Flow=Unrealized P/L\text{AUM} - \text{Cumulative Money Flow} = \text{Unrealized P/L} for the US spot ETF cohort.

Use Cases​

  • US capital deployment tracking: Measures total USD commitment to Bitcoin through US spot ETFs from the start of the ETF era.
  • Realized price derivation: Dividing this by US BTC holdings gives the US Spot ETF Realized Price — the cohort's average cost basis.
  • Profitability analysis: Compare with current US ETF AUM to determine whether US spot ETF investors are in aggregate profit or loss.
  • Flow momentum: The slope of this curve indicates whether US institutional demand is accelerating, steady, or decelerating.

API Usage​

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
  "https://api.blocklens.co/v1/etf/aggregate?start_date=2024-01-01&end_date=2024-12-31&limit=365"