Bitcoin ETFs lost $643 million in outflows Friday, and 2026 is barely green now

The U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Friday gave back most of what they pulled in this year in investor money.

These funds, often considered a proxy for institutional demand, registered a net outflow of $643.3 million, the biggest single-day exodus since June 25, according to data source SoSoValue. Before Friday, the funds were sitting on a net year-to-date inflow of just over $1 billion.

In other words, Friday’s outflow shaved off 63.6% of the year-to-date net inflow. It was also the 12th largest single-day outflow since the funds began trading in January 2024. The last bigger one came on June 25, when investors yanked $696.3 million.

BlackRock’s IBIT led outflows Friday, losing $233.70 million, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC, losing $201.4 million.

ETFs are investment funds that hold bitcoin directly and list tradable units of it on an exchange, allowing investors to take exposure without having to privately own coins.

The massive outflow on Friday, which narrowly beat the Oct. 22 outflow of $635.5 million, represents softening demand, a dynamic also evident from other indicators such as the Coinbase premium, which is widely tracked to gauge buying pressure from U.S.-based investors.

U.S. spot BTC ETFs recorded a massive single-day net outflow of $643 million on Friday, October 30, pulling total AUM below the $100 billion mark to $98.14 billion, while spot ETH ETFs also posted sustained weekly net outflows,” Bitfire Research said in an email to CoinDesk. “Coupled with the Coinbase Premium remaining in negative territory (-0.18% to -0.27%) and the Crypto Fear & Greed Index softening into the 30–34 range, institutional and spot buying momentum visibly faded.

Decentralized exchange Derive attributed the outflows to the massive $6.3 billion hack on Binance late Thursday.

“The market was already under pressure, but the Binance hack added another layer of uncertainty. $643M exits Bitcoin ETFs as traders rush to protect against further losses. The reaction from traditional investors has been significant. US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $643 million in net outflows on Friday, their first trading session following the hack,” Nick Forster, founder and CEO of Derive, told CoinDesk.

Derive is the world’s largest decentralized exchange for trading options, a derivative segment that is booming in the crypto market.

What next?

Looking ahead, three things matter in the immediate term, according to Bitfire.

First, the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm election, which could influence the regulatory outlook for President Donald Trump’s final two years in office.

Second, the Nov. 6 nonfarm payrolls report on the state of the U.S. labor market as of October. This report could influence Fed interest-rate expectations, with knock-on effects on all assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Third, MSCI’s final list of companies hit by its new rules for non-operating companies. The index provider has flagged leading bitcoin holders Strategy and Metaplanet as potential candidates for exclusion, which could expose both shares to passive fund selling pressure and indirectly affect their ability to stash more bitcoin.