In the United States, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have experienced five weeks of consecutive net outflows, with investors withdrawing approximately $3.8 billion during this timeframe.
Last week alone, these funds saw net outflows totaling around $315.9 million, as reported by SoSoValue. The most significant withdrawal occurred in the week ending January 30th when spot Bitcoin ($BTC) ETFs faced a staggering $1.49 billion in net outflows.
While there were some sessions that recorded inflows, such as an influx of about $88 million on Friday, these were overshadowed by larger redemption amounts earlier in the week. Noteworthy withdrawals included over $410 million on February 12th and additional negative sessions from February 17th to February 19th, which contributed to a firmly negative weekly total.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs experience ongoing outflows for five weeks straight. Source: SoSoValue
As of Friday’s close, spot Bitcoin ETFs have garnered approximately $54.01 billion in net inflows since their inception. The total net assets are around $85.31 billion, accounting for roughly 6.3% of Bitcoin’s overall market capitalization.
Related: $166M withdrawn from Bitcoin ETFs as $BTC faces one of its worst starts in years
The Impact of Institutional De-risking on Bitcoin ETF Withdrawals
The recent withdrawals from spot Bitcoin ETFs seem to be more closely related to institutional strategies rather than a decline in long-term interest towards the asset itself, according to Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research. He indicated that these outflows signify portfolio de-risking amid rising geopolitical tensions and broader macroeconomic uncertainties.
Liu further noted that flows may continue to be volatile shortly due to escalating trade disputes and tariff issues creating a risk-averse atmosphere across markets; thus making digital assets particularly sensitive to macroeconomic news.
“Future market inflows will hinge on macro events like Thursday’s initial jobless claims report; weaker data could reignite expectations for potential rate cuts and bolster sentiment currently reflected at an extreme fear level of 14 on the crypto fear and greed index,” he explained during his conversation with Cointelegraph.
Related: $53B remains within Bitcoin ETFs despite recent withdrawals: Bloomberg report
Sustained Outflows from Spot Ether ETFs
<pSimilarly facing persistent selling pressure are spot Ether (ETH) ETFs which have seen negative flows over the past five weeks as investors reduced their exposure to this second-largest cryptocurrency.
Ether ETFs also endure weekly outflows amidst market volatility.Source: SoSoValue
This past week alone saw Ether funds record about $123.4 million in net outflows according to data provided by SoSoValue.The losses persisted despite sporadic positive days where inflows occurred—such as approximately $48.6 million on February 17th and another influx of about $10.3 million on February 13th—but were ultimately eclipsed by heavier selling earlier within that same period.
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