Bitcoin Bloodbath: ETF Exodus Tops $1 Billion in Brutal Weekly Rout
Wall Street's crypto darling faces its ugliest week yet as institutional investors flee en masse.
The Great Unwinding
Digital asset funds hemorrhage over a billion dollars in seven days—the kind of mass exodus that makes traditional finance veterans smirk about 'I told you so' moments. Bitcoin ETFs, once the darlings of institutional adoption, now resemble emergency exits during a fire drill.
Contagion Spreads
Every major fund category bled red this week, proving even Wall Street's sophisticated packaging can't escape crypto's volatility. The outflows hit like consecutive body blows—no sector spared, no strategy working.
Silver Linings Playbook
History shows these violent flush-outs often precede major bottoms. Veteran traders watch the panic with knowing smiles, recognizing the scent of maximum fear that typically signals turnaround time. Meanwhile, traditional finance pundits can't resist their 'told you crypto was nonsense' victory laps—ignoring that their own hedge funds have blown up for far duller reasons.
When the smart money runs scared, the truly smart money starts loading up.
The timing wasn’t coincidental – Bitcoin’s price plunged from above $115,000 early in the week to under $104,000, marking a four-month low. The ETF losses mirrored the coin’s decline, as risk appetite across crypto faded sharply.
Still, not everyone is losing faith. Charles Schwab CEO Rick Wurster said in athat his firm’s clients now hold 20% of all crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) in the U.S. He described crypto as one of the “most engaging topics” among Schwab investors, adding that traffic to the company’s crypto website jumped 90% in the past year.
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Schwab, one of America’s largest brokerages, already offers crypto-related ETFs and Bitcoin futures – and is planning to introduce spot crypto trading by 2026. ETF strategist Nate Geraci noted that such participation from a major financial institution signals growing mainstream interest in digital assets, despite short-term turbulence.
As for Bitcoin, the month of October, typically known for strong performance, is proving unusually bearish this year. The asset has slipped about 6% so far, though analysts still expect a rebound later in the month if Federal Reserve rate cutscome into play.
For now, the market’s message is clear: capital may be leaving ETFs, but curiosity isn’t fading – and Schwab’s data shows that retail and institutional interest in crypto remains far from over.
