This week $1.2 billion outflow from Bitcoin ETFs…Schwab "Long-term interest remains"

About $1.2 billion (about ₩1.71 trillion) flowed out of U.S. spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), marking the largest cash outflow in recent months. However, large brokerage Charles Schwab said that interest in crypto asset investing among institutions and individuals is still expanding.

According to The Economist on the 18th (local time), the weekly net outflow from 11 U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs totaled $1.22 billion (about ₩1.74 trillion). On the previous day alone, $366.6 million (about ₩522 billion) was withdrawn, and except for a small inflow on the 14th, net outflows continued throughout the week.

Specifically, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) saw $268.6 million (about ₩382 billion) exit, Fidelity experienced $67.4 million (about ₩96 billion) in redemptions, and Grayscale's GBTC had $25 million (about ₩36 billion) in redemptions. Outflows from some small- and mid-cap ETFs also occurred, which was interpreted as a spreading risk-off sentiment across the market.

During the same period, Bitcoin's price fell from $115,000 (about ₩164 million) on Monday to below $104,000 (about ₩148 million) on Friday, marking a four-month low. Some analysts also interpreted this as an early institutional buying phase for Bitcoin ETFs shifting to a profit-taking phase.

Nevertheless, Schwab is optimistic about the structural growth of the crypto market. Rick Wurster, Schwab CEO, told CNBC in an interview, "Schwab clients currently account for about 20% of total crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) holdings in the U.S.," adding, "crypto products remain an area with very high client engagement." Schwab's crypto website traffic has increased 90% year-on-year, and it is preparing to introduce spot trading services sometime in 2026.

Nate Geraci, CEO of NovaDius, said, "Schwab is one of the largest brokerages in the U.S., and their future crypto strategy will be a key indicator to gauge the direction of the entire market."

Meanwhile, October has traditionally been called 'Uptober' for strong Bitcoin rallies, but this year it has unusually shown weakness. According to CoinGlass, Bitcoin has fallen about 6% in the past month, breaking the monthly pattern of rising in 10 of the past 12 years. However, some analysts noted that rebounds tend to concentrate in the late part of October and mentioned that renewed hopes for a U.S. interest rate cut could again serve as a catalyst.