Bitcoin exchange-traded funds witness $133M withdrawals amid persistent 'extreme fear' market conditions
Spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States have experienced $238 million in withdrawals over the current week, approaching the first consecutive five-week outflow period since March 2025.
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds listed in the United States experienced ongoing losses on Wednesday while market sentiment persisted in negative territory and BTC momentarily dropped beneath the $66,000 threshold.
Exchange-traded funds focused on spot Bitcoin witnessed $133.3 million in net withdrawals during Wednesday's trading session, pushing the week's total losses to $238 million, based on data from SoSoValue. The iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) operated by BlackRock topped the outflow charts, experiencing more than $84 million in fund exits.
Market trading volumes continued to show weakness, dropping beneath the $3 billion mark, underscoring the ongoing absence of robust activity despite analysts having previously identified possible turning points during the deceleration in withdrawal patterns.
Should the exchange-traded funds not experience a turnaround during Thursday and Friday's trading periods, the current week would represent the initial five-week consecutive outflow period for Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs since March of last year.
Throughout 2026 to date, Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have experienced approximately $2.5 billion in total outflows, reducing assets under management to $83.6 billion.
Solana ETFs keep bucking the trend after launch in late 2025
Even as Ether (ETH) and XRP (XRP) exchange-traded funds reported moderate daily withdrawals totaling $41.8 million and $2.2 million respectively, Solana (SOL) investment vehicles maintained their divergent trajectory.
Exchange-traded funds for Solana have maintained a six-day consecutive inflow pattern, with year-to-date accumulations reaching approximately $113 million. Nevertheless, trading activity levels have remained muted relative to previous months, given that February's inflows of $9 million thus far fall significantly short of the $105 million recorded in January and the $148 million seen in December 2025.
Following their October 2025 introduction to the market, spot Solana ETFs listed in the US have gathered close to $700 million in total assets under management, remaining behind XRP investment funds, which have collected $1 billion since making their November debut.
Crypto market remains in extreme fear, BTC down 24% year-to-date
The continuing selloff within Bitcoin exchange-traded funds arrives as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index keeps indicating sustained bearish sentiment across the market.
Despite Bitcoin having modestly rebounded from the multi-month low points near $60,000 that were recorded during early February, the index has predominantly stayed within "Extreme Fear" territory throughout this period.
As of this writing, Bitcoin was changing hands at $67,058 on the Coinbase exchange, representing approximately 24% decline year-to-date. Market analysts at prominent financial institutions, including Standard Chartered, have forecasted that BTC may decline to levels as low as $50,000 before potentially mounting a recovery toward $100,000 later in 2026.
Based on analysis from CryptoQuant, a cryptocurrency analytics platform, Bitcoin's short-term Sharpe ratio has attained levels that are historically correlated with "generational buying zones."
The arrows in the chart illustrate this clearly: each prior extreme negative reading was followed by violent recoveries to new highs
CryptoQuant analyst Ignacio Moreno De Vicente