Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded heavy outflows during the Christmas week, with investors withdrawing a combined $782 million from the product, according to data from SoSoValue.
The biggest single-day withdrawal of the period occurred on Friday, when the Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF recorded net outflows of $276 million. BlackRock’s IBIT led the losses with about $193 million out of the fund, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC with $74 million. Grayscale’s GBTC also continued to record modest redemptions.
Even as Bitcoin prices remained relatively stable around $87,000, the total net assets of all U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs had fallen to about $113.5 billion by Friday, down from a peak of more than $120 billion in early December.
Notably, Friday marked the sixth consecutive day of net outflows for Spot Bitcoin ETFs, the longest streak since early fall. Cumulative outflows over the past six days exceeded $1.1 billion.
We analyze the performance of Bitcoin ETFs in December. sauce: SoSoValue
Related: Explaining the various types of ETFs – Cointelegraph
Holiday cash outflows are likely to be temporary
Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Cronos Research, said Bitcoin ETF outflows during the Christmas period are not unusual, pointing to “holiday positioning” and liquidity dilution rather than a collapse in underlying demand.
“Once desks return in early January, flow within the organization typically picks up again and normalizes,” he told Cointelegraph.
Looking ahead, Liu expects the situation to improve in early January as financial institutions reopen and capital flows normalize. He added that interest rate markets are already pricing in a 75-100 basis point rate cut, and the possibility of Federal Reserve easing in 2026 could further support ETF demand.
“Rate markets are already pricing in about 75-100 bps of decline, indicating momentum is slowing. Second, bank-led crypto infrastructure continues to expand, reducing friction for large allocators.”
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Cryptocurrency ETF outflows suggest cooling of institutional investor demand
Glassnode said in a recent report that Bitcoin and Ether ETFs have entered a sustained outflow phase, suggesting that institutional investors are exiting crypto exposure. Since early November, the 30-day moving average of net inflows into U.S. Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) spot ETFs has remained negative, indicating slowing participation amid tight broader market liquidity.
Since ETFs are widely viewed as a proxy for institutional sentiment, the prolonged outflow signals a growing shift among large investors away from cryptocurrencies after a year in which institutional investors became the market’s primary driving force.
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