Spot Bitcoin ETF momentum stalls with $228M exodus from funds
Thursday witnessed $228 million flowing out of US spot Bitcoin ETFs, breaking a three-day positive streak, as Solana ETFs recorded their initial withdrawals since early February.
A recent run of positive capital flows into United States spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) came to an abrupt halt with new withdrawals occurring as the price of BTC dropped beneath the $71,000 threshold on Thursday.
Exchange-traded funds tracking spot Bitcoin (BTC) recorded net withdrawals totaling $228 million on Thursday, bringing an end to three consecutive days of inflows that had accumulated approximately $1.1 billion, based on information from SoSoValue data.
Despite this setback, weekly capital inflows maintained a positive position at $917.3 million as Friday's trading session approached, though year-to-date net outflows climbed to approximately $900 million. Total cumulative inflows for 2026 to date have reached $3.58 billion, whereas cumulative outflows have totaled $4.49 billion.
Overall assets under management stayed above the $90 billion mark following their return to this level earlier in the week.
Data from Farside indicates that BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) experienced the largest outflows at $89 million, with Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) following at $48 million and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) registering $46 million in withdrawals.
The decline in spot Bitcoin ETF performance occurred as market analysts highlighted that BTC's relief rally was encountering resistance within what remains a persistent bear market environment.
Analysis from CryptoQuant suggests that Bitcoin's surge past $73,000 was "likely just a relief rally" and not the beginning of a fresh bullish cycle. This assessment is consistent with the analysts' earlier predictions indicating BTC could potentially decline below $60,000 during the current crypto winter conditions.
Solana ETFs maintain resilience despite 57% price decline since launch
Bearish sentiment extended to altcoin ETFs, where Ether (ETH) funds registered $91 million in capital outflows. XRP (XRP) and Solana (SOL) similarly experienced modest withdrawals of $6 million and $5 million, respectively.
Of particular note, the outflows from Solana ETFs represented the first recorded losses since the beginning of February, even as year-to-date inflows have accumulated approximately $200 million. For comparison, XRP has attracted $86 million in inflows.
ETFs tracking Solana have gathered $1.5 billion in total cumulative inflows even as SOL's price has declined by 57% since spot ETFs launched in July, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas in a post shared on X.
Yet they managed to not only accumulate $1.5 billion in flows but not really give any of it up
Balchunas noted, further highlighting that numerous institutions have expanded their exposure to Solana throughout the fourth quarter of 2025. "Both are really good signs for the future," he added.