Bitcoin Spot ETFs Log $360M Weekly Outflows, Extending Month-Long Losing Run
US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have just wrapped up another difficult week, with investors pulling close to $360 million from the products and stretching their losing streak to four consecutive weeks. The continued bleed highlights how fragile institutional confidence has become as Bitcoin’s price suffers a sharp downturn, with the asset trading roughly 30% lower on a monthly basis.
Data from SoSoValue shows that in the second week of February, spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively registered net outflows of $359.91 million. The pattern was anything but steady: the week started with strong demand before sentiment flipped dramatically mid-week.
Strong Start Turns Into Sudden Reversal
On Monday and Tuesday, ETF issuers actually enjoyed solid net inflows, with institutions and other investors adding a total of $311.56 million. This early-week buying suggested that some market participants were viewing the recent Bitcoin sell-off as a buying opportunity, using ETFs as a regulated, convenient vehicle for exposure.
However, that optimism unraveled quickly. Between Wednesday and Thursday, spot Bitcoin ETFs were hit by a wave of redemptions, seeing net withdrawals of $686.87 million across all products. The scale and speed of these outflows erased the gains from the first two days and pushed the week decisively into negative territory.
Friday provided a hint of stabilization, closing the week with a relatively small net inflow of $15.20 million. While this final day was not enough to offset the heavy mid-week losses, it does suggest that some buyers are still stepping in on dips, even as broader sentiment remains cautious.
Issuer Breakdown: Heavy Pressure On Market Leaders
The outflow picture was uneven across issuers, with the largest and most liquid products bearing the brunt of the selling.
– BlackRock’s IBIT recorded the largest net outflows of the week, with $234.65 million withdrawn. Given IBIT’s position as one of the leading spot Bitcoin ETFs by assets and volume, large institutional players rotating out of the product had an outsized impact.
– Fidelity’s FBTC followed with $124.73 million in net redemptions, underscoring that even top-tier issuers are not immune to risk-off positioning during periods of heightened volatility.
– Grayscale’s GBTC also saw notable net outflows of $77.03 million. GBTC has remained a major vehicle for institutional exposure, but its legacy structure and higher fees relative to some competitors have made it more sensitive to market sentiment and capital rotation.
Interestingly, Grayscale’s secondary spot product, Grayscale BTC, bucked the trend with $110.08 million in net inflows. This demand helped partially offset redemptions from GBTC and suggests that some investors are actively reallocating within the Grayscale product family rather than exiting the ecosystem entirely.
Mixed Flows Across Smaller Issuers
Outside the largest funds, ETF flows were more mixed, reflecting pockets of both redemption and accumulation:
– Ark Invest / 21Shares’ CBOE-listed product recorded net outflows of $19.44 million.
– Bitwise’s BITB saw $29.81 million in capital leave during the week.
– VanEck’s HODL managed to attract modest inflows of $4.03 million, a relatively small but notable positive in a broadly negative week.
– Franklin Templeton’s EZBC added $2.35 million, while
– WisdomTree’s BTCW posted stronger inflows of $14.06 million.
– Invesco’s BTCO experienced net outflows of $6.84 million.
– Valkyrie’s BRRR brought in $2.08 million in net new capital.
– Hashdex’s DEFI showed no significant flow activity during the period.
This dispersion underscores that while the broader trend is negative, some issuers are still managing to attract new assets, likely driven by fee structures, brand trust, and investor-specific mandates.
Four Weeks Of Red Ink And A Tough 2026 Start
The latest figures extend a four-week run of net outflows across US spot Bitcoin ETFs, marking one of the most challenging stretches since these products launched. The second week of February’s $359.91 million in redemptions adds to what has been a notably weak 2026 so far.
For February alone, total net outflows now stand at $677.86 million. Zooming out further, cumulative net redemptions for 2026 have reached $2.28 billion, a clear indication that many institutional investors are reducing risk exposure or locking in profits after the strong ETF performance seen in 2024.
This reversal does not necessarily signal a structural rejection of Bitcoin as an asset class. Rather, it appears closely correlated with Bitcoin’s pronounced price volatility and its recent 30% monthly drawdown, conditions that typically dampen risk appetite in professional portfolios.
Why Institutions Are Pulling Back
Several factors are likely contributing to the cautious stance among ETF investors:
1. Risk Management And Volatility Controls
Many institutional portfolios operate with strict risk parameters. A 30% monthly drop in Bitcoin can trigger automatic de-risking, prompting managers to scale back exposure via the easiest avenue — liquid ETFs listed on major exchanges.
2. Macro Uncertainty
Changing expectations around interest rates, inflation, and liquidity conditions often push institutions toward safer assets. In such an environment, high-volatility instruments, including Bitcoin, are frequently trimmed, even if long-term conviction remains intact.
3. Profit-Taking After A Strong 2024
Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw powerful inflows and strong performance after their launch in 2024. Some investors may simply be realizing gains, particularly those with mandates to rebalance exposures after substantial rallies.
4. Rotation Within Crypto Exposure
The flows into products like Grayscale BTC, even as other vehicles lose assets, indicate that some investors are not abandoning Bitcoin but reshuffling between issuers and fee structures in search of more efficient exposure.
ETF Ecosystem Remains Structurally Strong
Despite the recent wave of redemptions, the broader health of the US spot Bitcoin ETF market remains solid. Combined net assets across all spot products are still hovering around $87 billion, underscoring the scale of capital that has entered the space in just over a year.
Moreover, since their debut in January 2024, these ETFs have accumulated $54.33 billion in net inflows. This figure is particularly important: it shows that the current outflows, while notable in the short term, are still small when measured against the total amount of capital that has flowed into Bitcoin ETFs since launch. Long-term institutional adoption appears intact, even if some investors are temporarily stepping to the sidelines.
In other words, the data points to short-term rotation and risk management rather than a collapse in trust or interest in Bitcoin as an investable asset.
What This Means For Bitcoin’s Price Action
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $69,479, posting a modest 0.99% gain over the previous 24 hours. This slight rebound, occurring alongside a week of ETF outflows, suggests that spot ETFs are an important but not exclusive driver of price.
Several dynamics help explain this:
– Global Demand Outside US ETFs
Trading on offshore exchanges, activity from non-US institutions, and direct holdings by high-net-worth individuals can offset or amplify ETF-related flows. Weakness in US-listed products does not always translate linearly into price action.
– Derivative Markets
Futures and options positions on major crypto derivatives platforms can significantly impact short-term price swings, sometimes counteracting or overshadowing ETF flows.
– On-Chain Activity And Long-Term Holders
If a large share of coins remains in the hands of long-term holders who are unwilling to sell at current levels, selling pressure from ETFs may be partially absorbed without triggering a proportionate price decline.
How Investors Might Interpret The Current Streak
For market participants, this four-week red streak in spot Bitcoin ETFs can be read in several ways:
– Caution As A Potential Opportunity
Contrarian investors often view periods of widespread risk aversion as attractive entry points, especially when structural adoption (such as long-term ETF assets) remains robust.
– Signal Of Market Maturation
The ebb and flow of institutional capital through regulated products is a sign that Bitcoin is increasingly being treated like any other macro asset. Redemptions during volatile periods are a normal part of that maturation process.
– Need For Time Horizon Clarity
Short-term performance of ETFs may not align with long-term theses on Bitcoin. Investors with multi-year outlooks might see the current environment as noise, while tactical traders are more likely to react to weekly flow data.
What To Watch Going Forward
Over the coming weeks, several indicators will be key to understanding whether the outflow trend is nearing exhaustion or just beginning:
1. Stabilization Or Further Decline In Bitcoin’s Price
A stabilization around current levels or a sustained rebound could restore confidence and bring inflows back into ETFs. Continued sharp downside volatility would likely extend the current red streak.
2. Changes In Macro Conditions
Any shifts in expectations for interest-rate cuts, liquidity provision, or broader risk sentiment could dramatically alter institutional allocation decisions.
3. Fee Competition And Product Innovation
If issuers introduce more competitive fee structures or differentiated products, some outflows may transform into rotation within the ETF space rather than net exits.
4. On-Chain Metrics
Data on long-term holder behavior, exchange balances, and realized profit and loss can offer clues about whether selling pressure is drying up or just beginning.
Long-Term Outlook: Adoption Trend vs. Short-Term Noise
When viewed through a wider lens, the spot Bitcoin ETF landscape still looks materially constructive. The fact that cumulative inflows remain strongly positive and total assets under management are in the tens of billions indicates that these vehicles have successfully opened the door for large-scale, regulated institutional exposure to Bitcoin.
The current phase of net redemptions reflects the reality that Bitcoin is now firmly embedded in the broader financial system — and, as such, is subject to the same cycles of risk-on/risk-off positioning as equities, bonds, and commodities. Periods of outflows are a normal and even healthy function of a market that has moved beyond a one-way adoption phase into a more mature, cyclical regime.
For now, capital is clearly rotating out of spot Bitcoin ETFs as investors grapple with volatility and reassess risk. Yet the sheer scale of assets still parked in these products, combined with the strong foundation of net inflows since 2024, suggests that the story of institutional Bitcoin adoption is far from over — it is simply entering a more nuanced, market-driven chapter.