Five Consecutive Weeks, $3.8 Billion Gone
US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs have now recorded outflows for five consecutive weeks, draining a cumulative $3.8 billion from the products that were supposed to be crypto's gateway to Wall Street permanence. The most recent week alone saw $316 million in redemptions, according to CoinDesk data published on February 23, 2026.
The streak now matches the longest outflow sequence since February 2025, when a similar five-week bleed of roughly $5 billion preceded Bitcoin's decline from the mid-$90,000s to $75,000 by early April. Bitcoin was trading just under $65,000 at the time of the latest data, down from $97,000 at the start of 2026.
BlackRock IBIT Absorbs More Than Half the Pain
The most striking detail is not the total but where it is coming from. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), the largest spot Bitcoin ETF by assets under management, accounted for approximately $2.13 billion of the $3.8 billion in redemptions over the five-week period. That is 56 percent of the total outflow concentrated in a single fund.
IBIT had been the consensus safe harbor for institutions entering Bitcoin exposure. When the fund that custodies the lion's share of US ETF assets starts bleeding at this pace, it signals something beyond routine rebalancing. These are deliberate allocation cuts.
CoinTelegraph's weekly digest reported year-to-date net outflows of roughly $2.6 billion across all US spot Bitcoin ETFs, with single-day outflows hitting $165.8 million on Thursday alone and weekly losses reaching $403.9 million according to SoSoValue data. Trading volume fell 21 percent over the week, dropping to the lowest levels since late December.
Why Institutions Are Pulling Back
The attribution list is long enough to qualify as a macro headache: lingering US-Iran tensions, President Trump's fresh global tariff escalation under Section 122, the October 2025 offshore exchange crash that exposed Bitcoin's vulnerability to manipulation on venues like Binance, and plain old technical chart damage.
But the deeper issue is simpler. Bitcoin has lost nearly a third of its value since January 1, falling from roughly $97,000 to under $65,000. For institutional allocators operating within risk budgets and drawdown limits, a 33 percent decline in under two months triggers mechanical selling regardless of conviction. Risk committees do not care about halving cycles.
The yen carry trade unwind added fuel in recent days, as the Bank of Japan's rate posture forced leveraged positions across risk assets to deleverage simultaneously. Bitcoin, priced in dollars but traded globally, absorbed collateral damage from a currency crisis that had nothing to do with on-chain fundamentals.
The February 2025 Precedent
The last five-week outflow streak ended in February 2025 with total redemptions of about $5 billion. What followed was a further leg down: BTC declined from the low $90,000s to $75,000 by April, a roughly 17 percent additional drawdown after the outflows stabilized.
The current bleed is smaller in absolute terms ($3.8 billion vs. $5 billion) but arrives with BTC already 33 percent below its cycle high. The starting altitude matters. A 17 percent decline from today's sub-$65,000 level would put Bitcoin near $54,000, a price not seen since mid-2024.
Whether the precedent holds depends on whether the outflows are leading (institutions selling ahead of further trouble) or lagging (institutions capitulating at or near the bottom). Google searches for "bitcoin going to zero" recently hit a record high, and the Fear and Greed Index touched single digits earlier this month. Both are contrarian indicators, but they were also present in 2022 before further declines.
What This Means for Bitcoin Holders and Card Users
For anyone holding Bitcoin in a crypto card wallet, the ETF outflows have a direct transmission mechanism. Falling BTC prices reduce the purchasing power of card balances denominated in Bitcoin. Cashback rewards paid in BTC are worth less at the point of redemption. Staking yields denominated in volatile tokens face the same erosion.
The volume decline is equally relevant. When ETF trading falls 21 percent and on-chain activity softens, liquidity across the broader crypto ecosystem tightens. That can mean wider spreads on crypto-to-fiat conversions at the point of sale, higher effective costs when topping up prepaid cards, and slower settlement during volatile windows.
Retail holders are increasing their supply share even as institutional players retreat. This divergence is historically significant, but it does not change the near-term math. If you are spending crypto through a card, the real cost of every transaction is partially determined by the liquidity environment ETF flows help shape.
The $53 Billion Cushion and What It Obscures
Context matters. Even after $3.8 billion in outflows, US spot Bitcoin ETFs still sit on roughly $53 billion in cumulative net inflows since launch. The five-week bleed represents about 7 percent of that total. By any historical standard, the ETF infrastructure has been a success story for Bitcoin accessibility.
But cumulative inflows and current flows tell different stories. A fund that attracted $53 billion over two years but is now losing $760 million a month (the five-week average) is a fund with a sentiment problem. Institutions that bought at higher prices are sitting on unrealized losses and re-evaluating their allocation thesis in a macro environment that has shifted dramatically since the post-election euphoria of late 2024.
The question is not whether $53 billion proves the ETF thesis. It does. The question is whether the marginal buyer, the one whose flows determine price at the margin, has decided to wait on the sidelines until the macro picture clears.
FAQ
How much have Bitcoin ETFs lost in the current outflow streak? US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs have shed $3.8 billion over five consecutive weeks, with $316 million exiting in the most recent week alone.
Which fund had the largest outflows? BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accounted for approximately $2.13 billion of the $3.8 billion total, representing 56 percent of all redemptions.
What happened after the last five-week outflow streak? The previous five-week streak in February 2025 totaled about $5 billion in outflows. Bitcoin subsequently declined from the low $90,000s to $75,000 by April 2025.
Are the outflows a sign Bitcoin will fall further? Not necessarily. The outflows could represent institutional capitulation at or near a bottom, or they could be a leading indicator of further weakness. Contrarian signals like record "bitcoin to zero" Google searches and single-digit Fear and Greed readings suggest extreme pessimism, which has historically preceded recoveries, but not always immediately.
How do ETF outflows affect crypto card users? Falling Bitcoin prices reduce the purchasing power of BTC-denominated card balances and cashback rewards. Lower market liquidity can also widen spreads on crypto-to-fiat conversions at the point of sale.
Overview
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $3.8 billion in outflows over five consecutive weeks, the longest such streak since February 2025. BlackRock's IBIT drove more than half the redemptions at $2.13 billion. The last time this happened, BTC fell an additional 17 percent. Trading volume dropped 21 percent to its lowest since late December. The macro backdrop of tariffs, geopolitical tensions, and the October offshore exchange crash continues to weigh on institutional appetite. Despite the bleed, cumulative net inflows since launch remain above $53 billion.
Recommended Reading
- Bitcoin Logs Its Worst Start to a Year in History as ETF Outflows Hit Every Trading Day This Week
- Bitcoin ETFs Are Sitting on $53 Billion in Net Inflows After Two Years, Demolishing Bloomberg's $15 Billion Ceiling by a Factor of Three
- Bitcoin Breaks Below $65,000 as $100 Billion Vanishes in a Single Day and the Whale Exchange Ratio Hits a Level Not Seen Since 2015
