Massive Bitcoin ETF Outflows Shake Market

Long considered the spearhead of institutional adoption, Bitcoin ETFs have just experienced one of their worst weeks since their launch. With massive outflows and a tense market, confidence is wavering. Such a situation reminds us that in the crypto universe, nothing is ever fully guaranteed, not even the most solid financial products.

A high-pressure week for Bitcoin ETFs

Last Thursday, spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced a black day, marking the second largest daily capital outflow in their history.

Indeed, more than 900 million dollars were withdrawn in just 24 hours. In total, the week ended with net withdrawals of 1.2 billion dollars, a historic level which makes this period the third worst week since these products were launched 22 months ago.

This decline is part of an overall crypto market pullback, with Bitcoin falling to $81,000, its lowest level since April. Investors are reacting to an increasingly uncertain macroeconomic environment, particularly the decline in expectations for interest rate cuts by the Fed.

The funds most exposed to this wave of disengagement saw their assets under management sharply decrease. Here are the key figures of this week :

• IBIT (BlackRock) : over 1 billion dollars withdrawn, the largest outflow in the sector ;

• GBTC (Grayscale) : 172 million dollars withdrawn ;

• FBTC (Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund) : 116 million dollars outflows.

Despite this difficult context, FBTC recorded a rebound of +108 million on Friday, while GBTC and Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust respectively regained 84.9 million and 61.5 million dollars.

These few positive signals at the end of the week are not enough to reverse the trend. They nevertheless indicate that some investors see this correction as an entry opportunity.

The rise of altcoins and investor repositioning

While Bitcoin ETFs recorded notable outflows, ETFs based on altcoins showed a radically opposite dynamic, attracting growing investor attention.

The Canary Capital XRP ETF (XRPC) stood out with 58 million dollars of net inflows on its first trading day, setting a record among crypto ETFs launched this year. This launch even outpaced the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL), which had raised 57 million on its debut a few weeks earlier. To date, BSOL has accumulated over 660 million dollars in assets without a single day of net outflows, demonstrating growing appetite for alternative crypto products.

This breakthrough of altcoins fits into a global trend. According to data relayed by Bloomberg, several new ETF products backed by XRP and Dogecoin are expected to hit the markets as early as next week.

In a post on X, Eric Balchunas, senior analyst at Bloomberg, sought to put the situation in perspective by recalling that Bitcoin has always bounced back after more severe crises “this asset has survived half a dozen withdrawals worse than this one to reach new highs each time”. He even adds sarcastically that “this asset should definitely be treated like hot sauce”.

This movement is supported by a wave of ongoing SEC requests for ETFs covering combinations of tokens or diversified crypto strategies. The success of these new ETFs shows the rapidly evolving investor demand.

While Bitcoin registers record withdrawals, Solana and XRP ETFs resist, illustrating a possible shift of investor interest toward other segments of the crypto market, more dynamic and less exposed to institutional turbulence.