Bitcoin ETFs See $558M in Outflows as Price Holds Near $105K

Bitcoin investment funds (ETFs) recorded their largest single-day withdrawal since August, with $558.4 million pulled out while BTC’s price remained mostly steady, dropping only 1% in the past 24 hours to $102,056.

Fidelity’s FBTC led the Bitcoin ETF outflows with $256 million withdrawn, followed by Ark Invest and 21Shares’ ARKB at $144 million, marking ARKB’s largest outflow relative to its fund size.

BlackRock’s IBIT ETF also saw $131 million in withdrawals, marking its seventh outflow in eight trading days, signaling investor caution amid market uncertainty.

In addition, Grayscale’s GBTC lost $15.44 million, and Bitwise’s BITB had $10.68 million withdrawn, while eight other Bitcoin ETFs, including VanEck’s HODL and Invesco’s BTCO, saw no change.

Despite large recorded outflows, JPMorgan increased its investment in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF by 64% and it currently owns 5.28 million shares valued at $343 million as of September 30.  

The bank also holds $68 million in call options (bets that Bitcoin’s price will rise) and $133 million in put options (bets that it will fall).

Whales Spark Bitcoin Outflows

According to experts, Bitcoin ETF outflows are likely due to long-term holders selling their tokens, a trend Charles Edwards from Capriole Investments called  “Super Whale exit phase.

Bitcoin wallets that have been inactive for years are currently selling large amounts, with on-chain data showing $100 million to $500 million in sales, suggesting early adopters are “cashing out”.

K33 Research analyst Vetle Lunde noted that 319,000 BTC held for six to twelve months have been moved for profit-taking, and “Mega Whales” have sold over $45 billion worth of Bitcoin in the past month.

Despite the large sales, investors remain hopeful that Bitcoin will recover. Michael Saylor recently encouraged buying, and short-seller James Chanos has stepped back from bets that its price would fall, boosting optimism.