According to recent analysis from Glassnode, the prolonged streak of capital leaving Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is a clear sign that institutional investors are pulling back from the digital asset market.
A Phase of Muted Participation
The analytics platform highlighted that the 30-day simple moving average of net flows into U.S. spot crypto ETFs turned negative in early November. Glassnode suggests this trend reflects a period of “muted participation” and partial disengagement by institutional allocators. This shift is contributing to a wider contraction of liquidity across the entire cryptocurrency ecosystem.
Historically, ETF flows tend to trail behind spot market prices. Since the underlying tokens have been trending downward since mid-October, the current ETF selling pressure mirrors this broader bearish sentiment.
Rising Selling Pressure
The market is currently facing a significant return of selling pressure. Data from Coinglass and the Kobeissi Letter reveals several concerning trends:
- Consecutive Losses: Aggregate Bitcoin ETF flows have remained in the red for four straight trading days as of late December.
- Persistent Withdrawals: Capital has been withdrawn from crypto funds in six out of the last ten weeks.
- Weekly Impact: Last week alone, crypto-related funds recorded a staggering $952 million in net outflows.
The BlackRock Exception
Despite the general market downturn, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) continues to stand out as a dominant force.
While the broader sector struggles, IBIT has managed to attract minor inflows over the past week. Since its launch, the fund has accumulated $62.5 billion in total inflows, far outpacing its competitors.
IBIT vs. Gold: A Surprising Comparison
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted a unique phenomenon regarding BlackRock’s flagship fund on the “2025 Flow Leaderboard”:
- Performance vs. Popularity: IBIT is the only fund among the top leaders to post a negative return for the year, yet it still secured the sixth-place spot for total inflows.
- Outpacing Gold: Remarkably, the Bitcoin fund saw higher net inflows than the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), even though gold prices surged by 64% during the same period.
