Bitcoin ETF experiences a record outflow of $4.4 billion, with funds flowing back in for the first time in three weeks

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Author: Claude, Deep Tide TechFlow

Deep Tide Guide: The US Bitcoin spot ETF just experienced the most severe withdrawal since its listing: from May 15 to June 3, 13 consecutive trading days of net outflows, totaling $4.4 billion, more than double the old record from February 2025. Coupled with a drop in the coin price, the ETF’s total size shrank from $104.3 billion to $82.8 billion over three weeks.

On June 12, 12 funds collectively showed zero outflows, with a single-day net inflow of $85.84 million, which Standard Chartered listed as one of three signs that Bitcoin has bottomed.

13 days, $4.4 billion, Bitcoin ETF’s longest outflow since listing

Measuring institutional attitudes toward Bitcoin, capital flow is the most direct gauge.

These ETFs buy and sell spot Bitcoin in real-time based on investor subscriptions and redemptions, with money flowing in and out, reflecting changes in institutional positions without any verbal statements.

Over the past month, this gauge showed the worst figures since listing. According to Galaxy Research, from May 15 to June 3, US spot Bitcoin ETFs experienced 13 consecutive days of net outflows, totaling about $4.37 billion, equivalent to approximately 59k Bitcoins. This was the longest continuous outflow since these products launched in January 2024, surpassing the previous record of 8 days and $3.2 billion in February 2025, which was doubled in this round.

Galaxy Research also pointed out that outflows over multiple time windows—7 days, 10 days, 20 days—set new records during this period, indicating that selling pressure was not concentrated on a single day but persisted over a significant period. This round of withdrawals turned the cumulative net inflow for 2026 negative for the first time. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas confirmed that the total fund flow for the year turned negative for the first time this year.

The biggest withdrawal was from BlackRock’s IBIT. According to Farside Investors data, during the entire outflow period, IBIT withdrew about $3.3 billion, accounting for three-quarters of the total outflows. Fidelity’s FBTC followed with about $456.6 million outflow, and Grayscale’s GBTC saw about $303.6 million outflow. IBIT, which has been the most capital-attracting product since listing, became the epicenter of redemptions this time.

Capital withdrawal and coin price decline mutually reinforce each other, evaporating $21.5 billion over three weeks

The destructive power of capital outflows was amplified by the concurrent drop in coin prices.

According to The Defiant citing SoSoValue data, the total assets of all US spot Bitcoin ETFs fell from about $104.29 billion on May 15 to approximately $82.83 billion on June 3, shrinking by about $21.5 billion in three weeks. This decline was driven by two forces: redemptions draining funds and Bitcoin’s price falling from above $80k to around $63k, a decline of about 21%, causing the holdings’ market value to shrink. The two factors compounded each other.

In terms of holdings, ETF Bitcoin positions dropped to about 59k coins, about 7.2% below the peak in October 2025. These ETF-held Bitcoins now account for approximately 6.36% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply, down from over 7% in mid-May.

A particularly striking redemption occurred on May 28. On that day, BlackRock’s IBIT had a single-day net outflow of $527.8 million, the second-largest redemption in its history. In May alone, US Bitcoin ETFs experienced a monthly net outflow of $2.43 billion, the largest monthly outflow on record, with $1.42 billion of that in the last week alone.

A “clean rebound” after outflows, with Standard Chartered citing it as a bottom signal

The turning point appeared in early June.

On June 5, Bitcoin ETFs ended 13 days of continuous outflows with a modest net inflow of $3.05 million. While negligible in this market size, the direction changed. On the same day, Ethereum ETFs also ended 17 days of outflows, with a net inflow of $19.3 million, all from BlackRock’s ETHA fund.

What truly signaled a potential bottom, as perceived by institutions, was the data from June 12 (Friday). According to SoSoValue, that day’s US Bitcoin spot ETF saw a net inflow of $85.84 million, with five funds experiencing inflows, and seven recording zero net flow, with none showing outflows. The collective absence of outflows across all 12 products was a key indicator for bulls to watch for signs of selling pressure easing.

Geoff Kendrick, head of global digital asset research at Standard Chartered, included this in his Bitcoin bottom list. In a brief client report on Friday, Kendrick said that crypto asset prices had already hit the cycle’s low point, corresponding to about $59k for Bitcoin, down 53% from the $126k high. He said three indicators needed confirmation: Strategy reported buying Bitcoin last week, ETFs recorded positive inflows on Friday, and oil prices continued to decline. He concluded the report by writing, “Winter is over, welcome back to the spring of crypto.”

However, the single-day inflow of $85.84 million cannot reverse the $4.4 billion outflow over three weeks. But a clean trading day is a starting point for observing whether selling pressure has peaked.

ETF capital flows now increasingly influence coin prices. According to Cryptopolitan’s estimates, ETF capital flows currently explain about 45% of Bitcoin’s weekly price volatility. Since their launch in January 2024, these Bitcoin ETFs have accumulated net inflows exceeding $55 billion, still below the all-time peak by less than $10 billion. Balchunas thus judges that the $4.4 billion outflow represents a significant momentum reversal rather than a structural collapse.