US spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $635 million in net outflows on Thursday, erasing the previous day’s $528 million inflow and pushing the group back into negative territory for October, according to SoSoValue. The reversal marked the largest daily withdrawal from the funds since June 25, when they posted $696 million in net redemptions.
The withdrawals ended a three-day stretch that had brought $1.08 billion into US spot bitcoin ETFs. That short recovery had been enough to improve the month’s totals, but Thursday’s selling left October with cumulative net outflows of $175 million, SoSoValue data showed.
The scale and speed of the reversal place renewed attention on the ETF market’s role in bitcoin’s short-term liquidity. Daily fund-flow figures reflect shares being created or redeemed through authorized participants, rather than a direct record of every institution’s bitcoin trading activity. Even so, large net redemptions can coincide with reduced demand for bitcoin held by the funds and sharper moves in the underlying market.
Bitcoin retreats after failing to hold $84,000
Bitcoin traded between $80,996 and $82,551 on Thursday after reaching an intraday high of $84,777 the previous day, according to CoinGecko. The cryptocurrency was last changing hands near $81,783, down roughly 1% over 24 hours.
The price decline arrived as ETF demand weakened after Wednesday’s strong inflows. Bitcoin remained above the $80,000 level, a closely watched round-number threshold, but failed to preserve the momentum that carried it toward $85,000 earlier in the week.
The ETF group nevertheless retained $443 million in net inflows for the week through Thursday. That weekly result followed two consecutive weeks of net outflows, showing that the latest selling did not fully erase the earlier rebound. It did, though, underline how quickly the direction of fund flows can change during a volatile trading period.
One earlier data point illustrates the uneven nature of the month. SoSoValue recorded $665.16 million of inflows into BlackRock’s bitcoin trust on the 19th. Such single-day figures can materially change the market’s reading of demand, particularly when they are followed by broad withdrawals across the ETF category.
Ether and Solana funds also see withdrawals
Selling extended beyond bitcoin products on Thursday. US spot ether ETFs recorded approximately $111 million in net outflows, according to SoSoValue. Solana ETFs posted roughly $9 million in net withdrawals, while Hyperliquid-linked HYPE ETFs saw about $8 million leave their products.
XRP ETFs were the exception among the major non-bitcoin ETF groups tracked for the session, recording around $3.6 million in net inflows. The modest gain contrasted with the broader retreat from cryptocurrency-linked funds, though it was far smaller than the withdrawals reported from bitcoin and ether products.
The synchronized outflows show that Thursday was not limited to a single bitcoin ETF issuer or one digital asset. Redemptions spread across several listed cryptocurrency fund categories, while bitcoin’s price weakened after its attempt to extend the previous day’s rally.
ETF flows should not be treated as a standalone measure of sentiment. They can reflect institutional portfolio rebalancing, hedging activity, shifts in shares outstanding, and changes in demand from financial advisers and other market participants. A one-day outflow also does not establish that holders have abandoned longer-term exposure to bitcoin.
Yet the figures carry practical weight because spot bitcoin ETFs hold bitcoin directly or use creation and redemption processes linked to the asset. Sustained inflows have the potential to support demand for fund-held bitcoin, while persistent outflows can remove a source of buying pressure. The daily data therefore has become a closely followed indicator alongside price, derivatives positioning, and macroeconomic developments.
Monthly result remains sensitive to daily flows
October’s negative $175 million total was produced by a narrow margin relative to the size of recent daily swings. Wednesday’s $528 million inflow briefly put the month on a stronger footing, only for Thursday’s $635 million outflow to reverse that progress in one session.
That volatility makes broad conclusions from a single trading day difficult. The ETFs had attracted $1.08 billion over the preceding three days and remained positive by $443 million for the week through Thursday. The picture is one of unstable demand rather than a uniform retreat across the entire period.
Bitcoin’s movement between roughly $81,000 and $85,000 provided the market backdrop for those changing flows. A return of sustained ETF inflows would give the asset a clearer source of spot-market support, while further large redemptions would leave bitcoin more exposed to selling pressure around the levels it tested on Thursday.
Worried about ETF-driven swings? Use this ETF guide to understand flows shaping Bitcoin’s price.
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