U.S. cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds lost about $593 million in the week to 16 October, with Bitcoin and Ether products bearing the brunt of continued investor withdrawals.
The total was around 52% lower than the $1.2 billion withdrawn the previous week, but all five major crypto ETF categories ended the period in negative territory as institutions continued to reduce exposure to risk.
Bitcoin ETFs recorded outflows of approximately $228.6 million between Monday and Friday, following a $681 million withdrawal in the preceding week.
Flows were uneven throughout the period. Funds lost $65.40 million on Monday before receiving $175.62 million on Tuesday. Outflows then reached $261.46 million on Wednesday, followed by a modest $5.06 million inflow on Thursday and another $82.39 million withdrawal on Friday.
BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for $165.4 million of the weekly redemptions. Fidelity’s FBTC lost $60.2 million, while Morgan Stanley’s MSBT recorded an inflow of $6.7 million.
Bitcoin ETF assets finished the week at $104.29 billion, meaning the withdrawals represented about 0.22% of total assets under management.
Ether funds faced significantly greater pressure relative to their size. They ended the week with $14.95 billion in assets after losing roughly $320 million, equivalent to about 2.14% of assets under management.
Ether has now recorded three consecutive weeks of outflows. Tuesday’s $24.84 million inflow brought a temporary end to a 10-day losing run, but withdrawals resumed the following day, reaching $129.51 million on Wednesday, $60.22 million on Thursday and $69.68 million on Friday.
Trading volumes also declined. Bitcoin ETF turnover fell to about $10.11 billion from $11.44 billion, while Ether trading volume dropped by roughly 34% to $3.44 billion. The combination of lower activity and continued redemptions indicates that institutional interest in crypto remains subdued.
Solana funds suffer further withdrawals
Solana ETFs recorded outflows of $25.52 million, narrowly exceeding the previous week’s record $24.81 million withdrawal. Combined outflows over the two-week period reached approximately $50.33 million.
The products have now posted 10 consecutive trading days of net outflows. Their assets fell to $1.62 billion, making the latest weekly withdrawals equal to about 1.58% of assets under management. SOL declined by about 4.6% during the week.
The figures represent a sharp reversal for a category that had previously recorded 14 successive weeks of institutional inflows.
XRP ETFs lost $1.84 million, while HYPE products recorded weekly redemptions of $17.57 million. Zcash funds shed $19.15 million as the enthusiasm that followed their launch continued to weaken.
NEAR was one of the few products to attract money. Bitwise’s NRR received $11.65 million during the week, with inflows on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
The defensive positioning came against a difficult economic backdrop. September CPI accelerated to 3.7% annually, while producer prices rose 6.3%. Higher energy costs added to inflationary pressure and strengthened expectations of restrictive Federal Reserve policy.
That environment has weighed on Bitcoin and other risk assets. Although ETF withdrawals have slowed, the key question is whether the stabilisation will continue if inflation prompts another repricing of interest-rate expectations.
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