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Bitcoin ETFs Witness Third Highest Outflow Since Launch, the Other Two Times Foreshadowed Price Bottoms

Bitcoin's price has now corrected approximately 6% since the all-time high break on Nov. 13.

BTC Price (Glassnode)
BTC Price (Glassnode)
  • U.S. spot-listed ETFs saw their third biggest outflow since launch, over $400 million.
  • Each time we see an outflow greater than $400 million, we have seen a local bottom in price, which can be seen on May 1 and Nov. 4.

U.S.-listed bitcoin BTC$95,279.94 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw their third-largest outflow since launch, seeing $400.7 million being drained on Thursday, according to Farside data.

During yesterday's trading, bitcoin witness low of around $86,600 and highs of near $92,000. Bitcoin has corrected nearly 6% from its all-time high on Nov. 13, when it pushed past $93,000.

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This price action isn't too concerning, as typically, once bitcoin sets new all-time highs, investor tend to take out their profits. In the past three days investors have cashed in $15 billion, according to Glassnode data. Bitcoin has soared over 25% since Donald Trump was elected the new U.S. president, earlier in the month.

BlackRock's IBIT saw inflows of $126.5 million, continuing the trend of strong inflows since Nov. 7. However, Fidelity's FBTC saw outflows of $179.2 million, Bitwise BITB saw $113.9 million being drained, Ark's ARKB bled $161. 7 million, while both Grayscale products saw combined outflows of $74.9 million.

Since the launch of the ETFs, Thursday was the third worst day for the bitcoin-linked products. Interestingly, the other two times the ETFs saw outflows of over $400 million was on Nov. 4 ($541.1 million), just prior to the U.S. election, and May 1 ($563.7 million). On Nov. 4, bitcoin bottomed around $67,000 before going on a tear all the way to over $93,000. While the May low coincide with a bottom at just under $60,000.

We will have to wait and see if the ETF flows signal another bottom and history repeats itself.

On the other hand, ether ETH$1,810.92 ETFs saw their first outflow in nearly two weeks, with investors taking out $3.2 million.


James Van Straten

James Van Straten is a Senior Analyst at CoinDesk, specializing in Bitcoin and its interplay with the macroeconomic environment. Previously, James worked as a Research Analyst at Saidler & Co., a Swiss hedge fund, where he developed expertise in on-chain analytics. His work focuses on monitoring flows to analyze Bitcoin's role within the broader financial system.

In addition to his professional endeavors, James serves as an advisor to Coinsilium, a UK publicly traded company, where he provides guidance on their Bitcoin treasury strategy. He also holds investments in Bitcoin, MicroStrategy (MSTR), and Semler Scientific (SMLR).

James Van Straten