Spot bitcoin, ether ETF outflows accelerate, totaling nearly $1 billion

Spot bitcoin BTC and ether ETH exchange-traded funds in the U.S. saw wider outflows on Wednesday, as institutional investors further reduced risk amid macroeconomic uncertainty.

According to data from SoSoValue, spot bitcoin ETFs reported a daily net outflow of $708.7 million, marking their largest single-day exit in two months. Among the ETFs, BlackRock's IBIT posted the largest amount of outflows, worth $356.6 million. Fidelity's FBTC followed with $287.7 million, alongside four other funds that saw outflows.

Ether ETFs recorded a combined net outflow of $286.9 million on Wednesday across five funds. BlackRock's ETHA accounted for the bulk of the total, posting $250.3 million in outflows. Three other ether ETFs also reported net outflows, while Grayscale's Ethereum Mini Trust saw $10 million in inflows. 21Shares' fund has yet to report its daily flows, according to SoSoValue.

"Wednesday's outflows look like classic derisking behaviour — When macro conditions turn hostile, higher rates, geopolitical flare ups, or sudden volatility, institutions tend to rotate out of higher beta assets first," said Rachael Lucas, crypto analyst at BTC Markets. "These aren't signs of structural weakness. Instead, they reflect institutions tightening risk ahead of uncertainty, not abandoning the asset class."

Prices stabilize

Yesterday's heavy outflows occurred while bitcoin and ether briefly dipped as low as $87,000, primarily due to tensions between the U.S. and EU and significant volatility in the Japanese government bond market.

However, the market recovered after President Donald Trump said he struck a deal with NATO regarding Greenland and decided not to impose tariffs on the EU countries in February. Bitcoin is currently trading at around $90,000, and ether is changing hands near $3,000, according to The Block's crypto price page.

"Despite a hostile macro backdrop, crypto is showing relative resilience as positioning normalizes," said Vincent Liu, CIO at Kronos Research.

"Spot Bitcoin ETFs still hold more than $116 billion in assets and have taken in over $56 billion in net inflows since launch," Lucas said. "A single heavy outflow day is meaningful, but it doesn't outweigh the long-term accumulation trend. We've seen similar episodes before, [and] they tend to be tactical adjustments, not a reversal of institutional adoption."

Contrary to bitcoin and ether ETFs, spot XRP and Solana funds reported net inflows on Wednesday. The XRP ETFs reported a total daily net inflow of $7.16 million, while the Solana ETFs posted $2.92 million in inflows.

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