DWF Labs reported that Bitcoin ETF flows tracked earlier price moves much more closely than later ones in a study of 694 trading days through October 16. The study found a correlation of 0.54 with the preceding five-day return, versus 0.03 with the following five days. Those figures do not establish what caused the moves or rule out an effect within a trading day.
Fund flows also do not reveal an investor’s full position: an ETF purchase can be paired with a futures sale. In July 2025, the SEC permitted authorized participants to create and redeem crypto exchange-traded products using underlying assets rather than cash; the change did not give every retail shareholder a direct redemption right.
