In an alarming trend for the cryptocurrency market, U.S. spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) have experienced substantial outflows, marking five consecutive weeks of net redemptions, with a staggering total of approximately $3.8 billion withdrawn since January 20. This extended period of capital flight constitutes the longest losing streak for these funds since early 2025.
During the past week alone, Bitcoin ETFs saw $316 million exit, amidst a shortened trading week due to the Presidents’ Day holiday. A deeper dive into that week reveals outflows of about $105 million on Tuesday, $133 million on Wednesday, and $166 million on Thursday. Although Friday saw a minor rebound with $88 million flowing back in, led predominantly by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) with $64.5 million and Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF (FBTC) contributing $23.6 million, it was insufficient to offset the overall negative trend.
Leading this retreat is BlackRock’s IBIT, which alone accounted for nearly $2.13 billion in redemptions during the past five weeks, making it the largest contributor to the overall outflow in the Bitcoin ETF segment.
While the current outflow streak is reminiscent of a similar downturn observed in early 2025, which saw approximately $5.4 billion pulled from these funds and coincided with geopolitical issues caused by U.S.-Iran tensions and tariff concerns from the Trump administration, the current figures indicate a smaller scale of withdrawals by comparison.
As of now, Bitcoin’s value hovers around $65,000, which reflects a significant decline of over 20% year-to-date. This marks a drop below the $79,000 threshold identified by on-chain analytics firm Glassnode as the “True Market Mean,” suggesting that the cryptocurrency may be poised for further volatility.
Ether ETFs Follow the Downward Trend
In parallel, spot Ethereum (ETH) ETFs are also feeling the pressure of market dynamics, showing five consecutive weeks of outflows, with total redemptions approaching $1.39 billion. The last week alone accounted for $123 million in withdrawals from Ether funds.
Analysts attribute this risk-off behavior to a combination of economic and geopolitical uncertainties, including escalating tensions between the U.S. and Iran and the potential repercussions of new tariffs announced by President Trump. Furthermore, bearish signals evident in Bitcoin’s technical charts have amplified investor hesitancies.
Stephen Coltman, 21Shares’ head of macro, emphasizes the critical nature of maintaining support at the $65,000 level for Bitcoin, pointing out that a sustained rise above $70,000 could indicate that the recent selling pressure is waning.
Resilience in SOL and XRP ETFs
Despite the prevalent downtrend in Bitcoin and Ether ETFs, not all segments have succumbed to similar outflows. Spot Solana (SOL) ETFs recorded modest inflows of $14.3 million in the past week, while XRP ETFs welcomed an increase of $1.8 million. Among these, Bitwise’s BSOL fund stands out in the Solana ETF category by assets under management, while XRP ETFs have maintained steady demand since their debut in November.
Analysts from BRN characterize the current sentiment in the market as “fatigue, not panic,” observing that crowded short positions and low volatility could set the stage for a sharp market movement in either direction.
Despite the recent struggles, Bitcoin ETFs continue to maintain substantial net assets, estimated at around $85.3 billion, and cumulative inflows since their January 2024 inception stand at approximately $54 billion.
