US spot bitcoin ETFs see largest-yet outflows worth $1 billion

Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S. saw their largest daily net outflows ever on Tuesday, totaling $1.01 billion, excluding data from Ark Invest's ARKB. Out of 12 spot bitcoin funds, 10 reported net outflows.

Fidelity's FBTC led the pack of net outflows with $344.65 million on Tuesday, followed by $164.3 million outflows from BlackRock's IBIT fund, according to data from SoSoValue. 

Valkyrie's BRRR saw $100 million net outflows, Bitwise's BITB recorded $88.3 million, and Grayscale's Mini Bitcoin Trust logged outflows of $85 million outflows. Franklin Templeton’s EZBC, Grayscale’s GBTC and Invesco's BTCO also experienced sizable net outflows yesterday. Ark Invest and 21Shares' ARKB has not disclosed its flow data at the time of writing, as shown on SoSoValue's dashboard.

Tuesday’s $1 billion net outflows exceeded the previous record outflows of $671.9 million on Dec. 19, which followed bitcoin’s price correction from its then-record high of around $108,000. Over the past six trading days of consecutive net outflows, spot bitcoin ETFs have seen over $2 billion leave the funds.

Massive net outflows from the ETFs yesterday coincided with a broad market downturn when bitcoin fell to its lowest point this year of around $88,000. Ether and other major altcoins, such as XRP and Solana, experienced even steeper price declines.

"BTC's drop below $90K seems to be an extension of broader risk-off trades, reflected in weak Nasdaq futures, a stronger JPY, and firm 10Y Treasury yields," Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Research, said in its latest report. 

Chung explained that TradFi hedge funds have been engaging in basis trade by buying Bitcoin ETFs and shorting CME futures to exploit a yield difference of around 10%, but started unwinding their positions as the strategy started to yield less, of around 5%. This likely triggered the significant outflows, the Presto analyst said.

BTC Markets Crypto Analyst Rachael Lucas pointed out multiple factors that contributed to the mass outflows along with institutional rebalancing of positions.

"One key factor appears to be profit-taking after bitcoin’s strong performance in 2024," said Lucas. "After a rally of that magnitude, it’s natural to see investors lock in gains, especially as the new year has started with softer momentum."

Macroeconomic factors, such as concerns about the U.S.-China trade outlook or expectations regarding the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decisions, keep investors on edge, Lucas explained. 

"If rates stay higher for longer, that raises the cost of capital and reduces liquidity, which can dampen demand for risk assets like bitcoin," said Lucas.

The U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs’ total cumulative net inflows stood at $38 billion, the lowest since mid-January. They currently own $101.4 billion worth of bitcoin in total net assets, SoSoValue  data  shows.

Meanwhile, spot ether ETFs also saw total daily net outflows worth $50 million, excluding data from 21Shares’ CETH. Grayscale’s ETHE led outflows with over $27 million in net outflows.

"If we see continued outflows, it could weigh on sentiment and contribute to increased volatility," BTC Markets' Lucas said. "However, long-term supply-demand dynamics remain strong, especially the post-halving event that occurred in April 2024, which reduced new BTC issuance. That structural supply reduction has historically acted as a tailwind for bitcoin prices."

Lucas noted that the outflows may put a short-term dent on bitcoin's price, but that it does not necessarily lead to a prolonged downturn as the cryptocurrency's price action is driven by a mix of spot demand, on-chain activity, derivatives positioning and macro factors.

Bitcoin was trading at $88,437 as of 2:00 p.m. Wednesday in Hong Kong, down 3.9% in the past 24 hours, according to The Block’s bitcoin price page .