Prolonged outflows from Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs… "Signal of institutional investor departure"

Analysis has emerged that outflows from Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have prolonged, showing signs of institutional investors exiting the crypto market. Coupled with spot market weakness, institutional flows are being viewed as a market burden.

On the 24th (local time), Cointelegraph reported that on-chain analytics firm Glassnode said the net capital flows for U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs and Ethereum ETFs, on a 30-day simple moving average basis, turned negative since early November. Glassnode analyzed, "This flow suggests that the participation of institutional asset allocators has slowed and entered a partial exit phase."

ETF fund flows typically lag spot price movements. In fact, Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have continued a downtrend since mid-October, and ETFs have been regarded throughout this year as a key indicator of institutional investor sentiment that has influenced market direction.

According to CoinGlass, Bitcoin ETFs recorded net outflows for four consecutive trading days recently. However, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) appeared to have maintained a small net inflow last week. Kobeisi Letter said, "Selling pressure on crypto ETFs is reappearing," reporting that $952 million left crypto funds last week and that there were outflows in 6 of the past 10 weeks.

Nevertheless, BlackRock's IBIT has recorded cumulative inflows of $62.5 billion since its launch, overwhelming competing products. This is the largest scale among U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas explained that IBIT ranked sixth in Bloomberg's "Top ETFs by inflows for 2025" despite negative returns in 2025. He said, "The key point is that this amount of money flowed in even in a negative return environment," adding, "If it can attract $25 billion even in a weak year, its inflow potential in a bull market would be much greater."