Investors withdraw $1.28 billion from Bitcoin ETFs in a week

U.S. Bitcoin ETFs recorded $1.28 billion in net withdrawals in the week ended November 6, their worst result since June. This movement does not only mark a new phase of mistrust. It erases their fragile return to the green and brings their annual balance sheet to 914.1 million dollars in outflows.

A week erases the fragile return to the green

The twelve U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs had started the week with approximately $368 million in net inflows since January. They had only just returned to a positive annual balance at the end of September, after several difficult months.

This improvement will not have resisted the combination of the Binance hack, the US elections, the fall in values ​​linked to artificial intelligence and the return of expectations of rising rates. Funds suffered withdrawals in four of the five sessions.

The timeline watch the speed of the reversal:

• Monday: $398.6 million in net outflows;
• Tuesday: $115.6 million in withdrawals;
• Wednesday: $74.6 million in entries;
• Thursday: $430.2 million in outflows;
• Friday: $411.9 million in withdrawals;
• Weekly report: $1.28 billion in net outflows.

This week is the seventh largest weekly outflow since the launch of US Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024. However, it remains lower than the $1.79 billion withdrawn during the week ending June 26.

The annual shift shows above all that institutional demand for 2026 was less solid than it appeared. The ETFs had not accumulated a large cushion of entries capable of absorbing several sessions of stress. A single week was enough to turn a positive balance of $368 million into a deficit of more than $914 million.

BlackRock concentrates withdrawals, Fidelity resists Friday

Friday’s move was largely dominated by BlackRock’s IBIT. The largest U.S. Bitcoin ETF saw approximately $403 million in outflows, or 88% of gross withdrawals recorded during the session.

Bitwise’s BITB and ARK 21Shares’ ARKB lost around $20 million each. Grayscale’s GBTC saw $11.1 million in additional outflows. Conversely, Fidelity’s FBTC received $42.8 million, after leading Thursday withdrawals with $199.9 million.

This divergence reminds us that institutional investors do not all react in the same way. Some are reducing their exposure, while others are taking advantage of the decline to reposition their portfolios. The overall balance nevertheless remains negative when outflows from the dominant fund largely exceed purchases observed elsewhere.

IBIT maintains approximately $60.3 billion in net assets and has $65.1 billion in cumulative inflows since its launch. The fund therefore remains the main driver of institutional adoption of bitcoin, but its size also gives it considerable weight during withdrawal phases.

The movement is not limited to BTC. Ether ETFs lost $365.3 million over the week, their sixth consecutive negative weekly record. The Solana and Hyperliquid funds also recorded a fifth week of outflows, their longest streak since launch.

This generalization shows that investors do not only arbitrage between cryptos. They are reducing their exposure to the entire asset class.

The negative balance weakens the main support of bitcoin

The total value of bitcoins held by the twelve ETFs fell 2.3% to $95.9 billion. This amount still represents around 6.3% of the capitalization of BTC. The decline reflects both withdrawals and price declines, making it impossible to attribute the entire decline to investor selling.

The volume of remaining assets also puts the idea of ​​a general capitulation into perspective. Weekly outflows represent a limited fraction of total assets. During the record withdrawal of $643.3 million observed after the Binance hack, several analysts pointed out that such an amount remained less than 1% of ETF assets.

The annual signal nevertheless remains important. ETFs have long been touted as a permanent source of demand, capable of absorbing available supply and supporting the price. Their move into the red shows that this engine can work in both directions.

Bitcoin is now evolving without the net support of ETFs over the whole of 2026. To reverse the trend, a few positive sessions will not be enough: the funds will have to recover more than 914 million dollars and interrupt the succession of withdrawals.

The next test will therefore be less of a one-off rebound in the price than a regular return of entries. As long as ETFs remain negative for the year, each bitcoin rally will have to prove that it is based on real demand, and not just on closing short positions.