CMC News

Spot $BTC ETFs See $782M Outflows During Holiday Week

Spot $BTC exchange-traded funds recorded $782 million in combined withdrawals during Christmas week, extending a six-day outflow streak as seasonal factors impacted institutional positioning. Friday marked the largest single-day withdrawal, with $276 million exiting the products.

BlackRock's #IBIT led Friday's outflows with nearly $193 million in redemptions, followed by Fidelity's FBTC at $74 million. Grayscale's GBTC also posted modest withdrawals as total net assets across U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs fell to roughly $113.5 billion from peaks above $120 billion earlier in December.

The six consecutive days of net outflows represent the longest withdrawal streak since early autumn, with cumulative redemptions exceeding $1.1 billion over the period. $BTC prices held relatively steady near $87,000 during the drawdown, according to SoSoValue data.

Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research, attributed the holiday period outflows to seasonal positioning and thinner liquidity rather than weakening underlying demand. Institutional flows typically normalize as trading desks return in early January, he told Cointelegraph.

Liu expects conditions to improve as institutions return and capital flows stabilize in the new year. A potential shift toward #FederalReserve easing in 2026 could further support #ETF demand, with rate markets already pricing in 75 to 100 basis points of cuts.

Bank-led crypto infrastructure continues to scale and reduce friction for large allocators, according to Liu. This development should facilitate easier institutional access to #Bitcoin exposure through regulated investment vehicles.

Glassnode reported that Bitcoin (BTC) and #Ethereum (ETH) ETFs have entered a sustained outflow phase, suggesting institutional investors are pulling back from crypto exposure.