BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Bleeds $2.7B in Longest Outflow Streak Since Launch - Is the Institutional Honeymoon Over?

BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF just hit a record it didn't want.

The fund has now bled capital for 17 consecutive days—its longest outflow streak since launching. Investors yanked a staggering $2.7 billion during the run. That's not a blip; it's a trend.

What's Behind the Exodus?

Market sentiment shifted. The initial euphoria from institutional validation has cooled, replaced by a more sober assessment of risk and regulatory headwinds. Some big players are taking profits, others are rebalancing—classic finance moves in a decidedly un-classic asset class.

The Bigger Picture

This isn't necessarily a doom signal for Bitcoin itself. It's a reality check for the ETF wrapper. The product lives and dies by flows, and right now, it's coughing up cash. It turns out that even a gold-plated name like BlackRock can't suspend the laws of market gravity—or investor fickleness.

One cynical take? Wall Street's embrace was always conditional. They love the fees and the narrative, but at the first sign of turbulence, the 'long-term conviction' playbook gets shelved for short-term risk management. Sound familiar?

The streak will break eventually. But this run has etched a clear message into the ledger: in crypto, even the most prestigious on-ramp is a two-way street.

IBIT Faces Reversal as Crypto Wipeout Ends Months of Steady Inflows

IBIT, which manages more than $71 billion in assets, has been the flagship vehicle for traditional investors seeking regulated exposure to Bitcoin.

However, flows have reversed direction since early October, when a violent liquidation across crypto markets triggered a sell-off that erased more than $1 trillion in digital-asset value.

The shift stands in contrast to the steady inflows that helped propel bitcoin higher earlier in the year.

Last week, speaking in São Paulo, BlackRock business development director Cristiano Castro said the company’s Bitcoin ETFs had become one of its strongest revenue engines, calling their rapid ascent “a big surprise” as investor allocations surged throughout the year.

Castro also downplayed outflow concerns, noting that “ETFs are very liquid and powerful instruments.”

“What we’ve been seeing is perfectly normal; any asset that starts to experience compression usually has this effect, especially in an instrument that is heavily controlled by retail investors,” he added.

$ETH ETF outflow of $41,500,000yesterday.

BlackRock bought $28,400,000 in Ethereum. pic.twitter.com/LudLAdu0rg

Bitcoin has clawed back some losses this week, but analysts say ETF flows paint a clearer picture of institutional caution.

In a recent report, Glassnode wrote that the outflow streak “marks a clear reversal from the persistent inflow regime that supported price earlier in the year, and reflects a cooling of new capital allocation into the asset.”

The firm noted that investor positioning has become more defensive as volatility and funding pressure remain elevated.

Despite the turbulence, Bitcoin traded around $92,000 in London on Friday morning, still down 27% from its October peak.

Spot Chainlink ETF Pulls $41M on First Day

As reported, Grayscale’s first US spot exchange-traded fund tied to chainlink opened with solid demand, adding another data point to the debate over whether appetite for altcoins can survive a cooling crypto market.

The product ended its debut session with $41 million in net inflows and about $13 million in trading volume.

The figures placed Chainlink among the stronger ETF launches this year and suggested that, at least for some investors, regulated vehicles remain the preferred route into higher-risk digital assets.

The new Chainlink ETF comes amid the rollout of a wave of new altcoin ETFs.

Over the past month, issuers have launched products tied to Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin, with more XRP and Dogecoin funds set to list next week.

The Canary Capital XRP ETF (XRPC) debuted with $58 million in net inflows, the highest opening-day haul for any ETF this year, edging out the Bitwise solana Staking ETF (BSOL), which launched with $57 million.