In the United States, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on spot Bitcoin have experienced a third consecutive month of outflows. Although this trend might shift in January, the sector is approaching its second anniversary amid persistent negative sentiment.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs: Facing a Third Straight Month of Decline?
The spot Bitcoin ETF market is nearing its third straight month of withdrawals. Data from SoSoValue reveals that investors pulled approximately $210 million from these ETFs during the first ten days of January.
Historically, the longest downturn lasted two months—from February to March 2025—when cryptocurrency holders withdrew an astonishing $4.2 billion from spot Bitcoin ETFs within just 60 days.
The current phase appears even more severe: between November and December 2025, plus early January 2026, liquidity outflows reached $4.7 billion as investors exited spot BTC ETFs.
The total assets under management (AUM) denominated in USD for this segment hover near levels seen one year ago. In mid-January 2025, spot BTC ETFs held about $107 billion; today’s figure stands close to $116 billion.
At its highest point—just before the crypto flash crash on October 10—the valuation surpassed an impressive $166 billion.
Is This a “Mild” Bear Market?
Bitcoin (BTC), which serves as both the largest cryptocurrency and primary asset backing these spot BTC ETFs, has declined from around $94,000 to roughly $90,500 over the past twelve months.
This marks the first time in history that Bitcoin closed a post-halving year with losses represented by a red candle on charts—a signal prompting many analysts to declare that a bear market may be underway.
However, CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju suggests this downturn could be less harsh compared to previous crypto winters experienced during 2018-2019 and again in 2021-2022.
This Bitcoin bear market will be cute pic.twitter.com/02RCMvxZxC
— Ki Young Ju (@ki_young_ju) January 9, 2026
The overall net capitalization of cryptocurrencies dropped from about $3.6 trillion last year down to nearly $3.2 trillion currently—after reaching an all-time high exceeding $4.3 trillion on October 7th, 2025.