Bitcoin ETFs shed $1.16B in three days as Bitwise calls selling short-term
In brief
- US spot Bitcoin ETFs logged $1.16 billion in net outflows over three trading days, per SoSoValue.
- Daily outflows slowed from $643 million Friday to $399 million Monday and $116 million Tuesday.
- Bitwise's André Dragosch tied the selling to a short-term risk-off environment.
- Dragosch cited a Bitwise survey of 15 institutions, none of which cut ETF exposure.
Three days of withdrawals
Investors pulled $116 million from the funds on Tuesday, per SoSoValue figures cited by Cointelegraph. That's well below Monday's $399 million and Friday's $643 million, so the pace slowed as the week went on. The latest withdrawals put the funds' net outflows for 2026 at roughly $153 million, Cointelegraph reported.
The withdrawals followed what Cointelegraph reported was a $6.3 billion hack of Binance on Thursday, which it said raised concerns about investor confidence and ETF custody security.
Dragosch doesn't read the selling as institutions heading for the exit.
Bitwise's read on who's selling
Dragosch told Cointelegraph the outflows tracked weaker market sentiment, not fears over the safety of ETF holdings. In his view, ETF flows reflect both long-term institutional adoption and shorter-term changes in investor sentiment. He cited a Bitwise survey of 15 institutions, none of which had reduced Bitcoin ETF exposure during the bear market. US regulatory filings also showed most institutional investor categories (hedge funds aside) had largely kept their positions, Cointelegraph reported.
Retail is the other half of it, according to Dragosch. Retail investors hold the majority of Bitcoin ETF holdings and tend to react more strongly to volatility, he said, and Bitwise's analysis found ETF inflows closely tracked broader crypto market sentiment, which weakened around the Binance hack.
“I do think it’s related to a short-term risk-off environment rather than a structural change in institutional sentiment,” Bitwise’s head of research, André Dragosch, told Cointelegraph.
Custody questions and market mood
Some industry observers raised concerns about crypto ETF custody after the hack because major funds rely on a small number of custodians, Cointelegraph reported. Dragosch pushed back. He noted the Binance incident hit internet-connected hot wallets, not cold wallets, and said institutional funds at Coinbase custody sit in cold storage that isn't connected to the internet.
Sentiment's still shaky. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index rose to 34 from 26 on Monday but stayed in the "Fear" category. Bitcoin gained about 1.6% over 24 hours and traded near $78,000 at the time of publication, according to CoinGecko data cited by Cointelegraph.
Frequently asked questions
How much did US spot Bitcoin ETFs lose in the latest outflows?
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $1.16 billion in net outflows from Friday through Tuesday, according to SoSoValue data reported by Cointelegraph. Daily outflows were $643 million Friday, $399 million Monday and $116 million Tuesday. Net outflows for 2026 stood at roughly $153 million.
Why does Bitwise think the Bitcoin ETF outflows are short-term?
Bitwise's André Dragosch told Cointelegraph the outflows reflect a short-term risk-off environment, not a structural shift in institutional sentiment. He cited a Bitwise survey of 15 institutions, none of which had cut Bitcoin ETF exposure during the bear market, and said retail investors (who hold most ETF shares) react more strongly to volatility.
Did the Binance hack put Bitcoin ETF custody at risk?
Some observers raised custody concerns because major funds rely on a few custodians, Cointelegraph reported. Dragosch said the Binance incident affected internet-connected hot wallets, and that institutional funds at Coinbase custody are kept in cold storage that isn't connected to the internet.
