Bitcoin ETFs draw $608M as Ether ETFs see largest inflow since October

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $635 million in net outflows on Thursday, ending a three-day inflow streak and pushing October's flows back into the red, according to Cointelegraph citing SoSoValue data. Decrypt's ETF tracker put the figure at $635.6 million, describing it as the largest single-day outflow of the month. Ether ETFs also lost money, with Cointelegraph reporting around $111 million in net outflows and Decrypt putting the figure at $110.6 million. Solana ETFs shed roughly $9 million, while XRP ETFs attracted about $3.6 million in inflows. Bitcoin traded near $81,460 on Friday, flat over 24 hours, as the outflows failed to move prices sharply.

Background

The sources describe a volatile October for spot crypto ETFs. Cointelegraph reports that Thursday's withdrawals more than erased Wednesday's $528 million in inflows and brought October's net outflows to $175 million, the largest single-day net outflow since June 25, when Bitcoin ETFs lost $696 million. Decrypt says the outflows wiped out nearly 60% of the roughly $1.07 billion the funds took in over the previous three sessions, and that October had climbed to roughly $460 million in net inflows on Wednesday before flipping to about $176 million in net outflows. Decrypt notes that the $635.6 million exit topped the $484.9 million outflow on Oct. 7, which at the time was the worst since June. Cointelegraph adds that Bitcoin ETFs still had weekly net inflows of $443 million and had recorded two consecutive weeks of outflows before the rebound. Decrypt reports cumulative net inflows since launch slipped to $57.8 billion, with total net assets at $100.2 billion, and that Ethereum funds, which debuted in July 2024, have taken in $12.7 billion.

What happened

Cointelegraph reports that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $635 million in net outflows on Thursday, pushing October's flows back into the red. The withdrawals more than erased Wednesday's $528 million in inflows and brought October's net outflows to $175 million, according to SoSoValue data. It was the largest single-day net outflow since June 25, when Bitcoin ETFs lost $696 million. The withdrawals snapped a three-day inflow streak that attracted $1.08 billion. Bitcoin ETFs still had weekly net inflows of $443 million. Decrypt reports that spot Bitcoin ETFs shed $635.6 million on Thursday, erasing nearly 60% of a three-day, $1.07 billion inflow streak and flipping October back to a net loss of about $176 million. Decrypt says it was their biggest single-day outflow of the month, topping the $484.9 million exit on Oct. 7 that was, at the time, the worst since June. Decrypt adds that Ethereum ETFs lost $110.6 million a day after snapping a five-day outflow streak, bringing their October outflows to about $1.18 billion, while Solana ETFs shed $8.9 million, bringing them to about $68 million in outflows this month. Cointelegraph reports Ether ETFs recorded around $111 million in net outflows, followed by Solana ETFs with roughly $9 million and Hyperliquid (HYPE) ETFs with about $8 million. XRP ETFs bucked the trend, attracting around $3.6 million in inflows.

Market impact

Bitcoin traded between $80,996 and $82,551 on Thursday, down from Wednesday's intraday high of $84,777, according to Cointelegraph. BTC was trading at approximately $81,783 at the time of publication, down around 1% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Decrypt reports Bitcoin traded near $81,460 on Friday, flat over 24 hours and down 0.4% on the week. Ethereum dipped 0.2% to about $2,400, and Solana slipped 0.3% to roughly $104. The 30-day declines are steeper: Bitcoin is down 4.8%, Ethereum 11.4%, and Solana 10.4%. Total crypto market cap held at about $2.85 trillion, while trading volume fell 20% to $67.1 billion. Decrypt reports that traders on Myriad, a prediction market developed by Decrypt's parent company Dastan, now give Bitcoin a 17% chance of topping $87,500 before the month ends, down from 20% a day earlier, and 9% odds of reaching $90,000. They put the odds of a slide to $77,500 at 32%. Decrypt also reports that cumulative net inflows since launch slipped to $57.8 billion, with total net assets at $100.2 billion.

Why it matters

The sources frame ETF flows as a closely watched gauge of investor sentiment because issuers report flows daily and much of the money comes from institutions and financial advisers, according to Decrypt. The reversal matters because it shows how quickly October's comeback faded: Decrypt notes the funds had climbed to roughly $460 million in net inflows for the month on Wednesday before flipping to about $176 million in net outflows. Cointelegraph notes the outflows snapped a three-day inflow streak that had attracted $1.08 billion, while weekly net inflows of $443 million remained positive. Decrypt reports that yesterday's selling coincided with a rough day across markets, with oil climbing above $111 a barrel as AI stocks slid, dragging the S&P 500 and global markets lower. The Federal Reserve next meets Oct. 27-28, with traders anticipating a hold, which Decrypt says generally bodes well for risk assets like crypto. Despite the heavy ETF outflows, prices barely budged, which Decrypt describes as Bitcoin settling into a wait-and-see mode that analysts said may not be a bad thing for the market.