PANews reported on August 27 that according to CoinDesk, Citibank said in a research report on Friday that the cryptocurrency market has been struggling since the launch of spot Ethereum ETF trading in the United States on July 23. During this period, other risk assets have also performed weakly, but since the rebound after the release of non-agricultural employment data (NFP), cryptocurrencies have performed poorly on a volatility-adjusted basis.

"Demand for cryptocurrencies has dried up in recent weeks," the report said, with spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs seeing net outflows last month. These outflows also coincided with relatively low search interest and sluggish network activity. This weaker demand was also evident in futures funding rates, which briefly turned negative in August.

Citigroup said that until there is more transparency into the “soft versus hard landing outcomes” of the U.S. economy, ETF flows are likely to remain disappointing. Despite the market correction in August, stablecoins have bucked the recent negative trend in digital assets, with continued supply growth, the report added.