Investors have withdrawn close to $3.8 billion from U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) over five consecutive weeks, marking the longest stretch of outflows since February 2025.
In the past week alone, $316 million was pulled from the funds, according to data from SoSoValue.
Institutional investors remain cautious
BlackRock’s IBIT has been at the forefront of the outflow trend, shedding $2.13 billion over five consecutive weeks of withdrawals.
The sustained pullback suggests that institutional investors remain cautious toward the world’s largest cryptocurrency, continuing the hesitancy that emerged after the early October crash.
Although the current five-week streak matches the duration of last February’s outflows, it is less severe in scale, at $3.8 billion compared with roughly $5 billion last year. That earlier wave of withdrawals was followed by a market downturn in the subsequent weeks, with bitcoin sliding to around $75,000 in early April.
Read: Bitcoin nears $68,000 as sentiment remains fragile amid geopolitical risks
Bitcoin trades near $66,000 as downturn persists
Bitcoin slipped briefly below $65,000 during Asian trading on Monday after earlier climbing above $66,400, as continued selling by large holders kept the cryptocurrency under strain. Investor sentiment was further dampened by mounting uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade policy.
The broader crypto market also declined, with Ether facing particular pressure after Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin was reportedly seen reducing his holdings. Renewed turbulence in U.S. trade policy compounded the weakness.
Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated a substantial portion of President Donald Trump’s tariffs, ruling that he had exceeded his authority in imposing duties on key trading partners. In response, Trump introduced a new 10 percent blanket tariff on imports for 150 days, later increasing it to 15 percent, the maximum permitted under the relevant law, further impacting financial markets.
The escalation in trade tensions weighed on Asian equities and other risk-sensitive assets on Monday. Investors feared that higher trade barriers could curb global growth and tighten liquidity conditions, developments that typically put additional pressure on cryptocurrencies.
