U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs See $630.4 Million Net Outflows as BlackRock Leads Redemptions

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $630.4 million in net outflows on May 13, the largest daily exit in three months, as BlackRock’s IBIT led with $284.7 million in redemptions, followed by ARKB at $177.1 million and Fidelity’s FBTC at $133.2 million.

“Spot Bitcoin ETFs are once again attracting serious institutional capital, posting seven straight weeks of inflows as investor appetite for regulated Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) exposure strengthens”

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Decrypt linked the sell-off to profit-taking and positioning shifts, saying the move reflected a sharp institutional retreat from risk assets rather than a structural drop in demand.

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CoinDesk described the same day’s withdrawals as a fading tailwind for bitcoin’s push above $80,000, noting that investors pulled $635 million from the 11 U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs, the largest single-day net outflow since January 29.

CoinDesk also said the rally stalled near the 200-day simple moving average located just above $82,000, while bitcoin fell more than 2% to $79,400 in the last 24 hours.

In Decrypt’s account, Illia Otychenko of CEX.IO said “A large part of the outflows was driven by this week's U.S. inflation data,” which shifted Federal Reserve expectations and triggered broad risk aversion that “by extension hit Bitcoin and caused elevated ETF outflows.”

Decrypt reported that April’s CPI came in at 3.8%, above expectations and the highest reading since September 2023, followed by a day later by a PPI print of 6%, the highest since February 2023.

Illia Otychenko said these releases strengthened concerns that the Federal Reserve may consider rate hikes this year, and he warned that inflation-driven risk aversion “by extension hit Bitcoin and caused elevated ETF outflows.”

@coindesk

CoinDesk added that the outflow wasn’t isolated, with ETFs posting total outflows of $1.26 billion over the last five trading days, bringing total net inflows since their January 2024 launch to $58.5 billion versus $59.76 billion a week earlier.

CoinDesk also cautioned that the relationship between ETF flows and bitcoin is no longer as simple as before, citing a 90-day rolling Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.16 between bitcoin’s daily returns and daily changes in cumulative net ETF inflows.

In CoinDesk’s framing, Adam Haeems of Tesseract Group said “A consistently high CPI, a Federal Reserve under the looming leadership of Warsh,” or “a new oil shock could compress bitcoin even with positive net flows.”

Decrypt said much will now depend on oil prices and developments around the Strait of Hormuz, with Otychenko warning that any prolonged disruption could push energy costs higher and “add another inflationary wave,” increasing pressure on crypto markets.

“PiCK US Spot-Bitcoin ETFs See $630”

bloomingbit

Decrypt also pointed to the outcome of a Clarity Act hearing as a potential volatility driver, while noting that on prediction market Myriad users placed just a 24% chance on the Strait of Hormuz blockade being lifted before June.

CoinDesk said the market’s next test is whether bitcoin can reclaim the 200-day simple moving average near $82,000, after the single-day outflow of $635 million and the five-day total outflow of $1.26 billion.

CoinDesk further reported that over the past five trading days, ETFs have been leaking funds while bitcoin’s rally has stalled, and it highlighted a correlation study showing the 90-day rolling Pearson coefficient at 0.16.

In Decrypt’s view, the outflow reverses a five-week inflow streak that had pulled in roughly $3.8 billion in cumulative net inflows through the week ending May 6, and it marked the largest single-day outflow since January 29 when funds lost $817.8 million.