Matrixport: Bitcoin ETF inflows slow down, with narrowing basis as the main reason

Matrixport's analysis indicates that the inflow of funds into Bitcoin ETFs has significantly slowed down, primarily due to the narrowing of market basis.

The report points out that retail participation remains persistently low, with trading volume data from the South Korean crypto market showing no significant retail buying demand. Due to the lack of incremental buying support, the perpetual contract funding rate has remained low for an extended period, thereby compressing the profit space for basis trading (arbitrage between spot and futures), which limits the incremental inflow of funds into Bitcoin ETFs.

Analysts believe this confirms the judgment made in March 2024: without retail-driven momentum to push the spot-futures price difference, the pace of institutional capital allocation is difficult to accelerate, leading to an extension of the current consolidation phase.