Crypto ETFs Bleed $1.82 Billion in One Week as Panic Selling Grips Market
Crypto's Paper Gold Loses Its Luster
The floodgates have opened—and capital is rushing out. Exchange-traded funds, the darling bridge between Wall Street and digital assets, just witnessed a staggering $1.82 billion vanish from their coffers in a mere seven days. This isn't a trickle; it's a full-blown redemption run, signaling a profound shift in institutional and retail sentiment. The 'easy money' era for passive crypto exposure appears to be hitting a brutal reality check.
The Great Unwind
What triggers a retreat of this magnitude? Look no further than the broader market sell-off. When volatility spikes and charts bleed red, the first move for many is toward the exit—especially for funds held by skittish newcomers who thought ETFs were a one-way ticket to riches. This massive weekly outflow acts as a direct proxy for fear, a quantifiable measure of panic as investors ditch paper claims on crypto for the safety of cash or, perhaps, more tangible hedges. It's a classic risk-off move, executed at scale.
Beyond the Headline Number
Dig deeper, and the story gets more nuanced. Which specific ETFs bore the brunt? Was it the flagship Bitcoin funds, or did the rot spread to broader digital asset baskets? The $1.82 billion figure is a composite, a net result of what was likely a frantic reshuffling. Some of this capital isn't leaving the crypto sphere entirely—it might simply be fleeing regulated, custodial products for the perceived control of direct ownership or decentralized avenues. The flow tracks the product, not necessarily the conviction.
A Stress Test for the Thesis
Let's be clear: this is a stress test for the entire 'crypto as a legitimized asset class' narrative. Proponents argued ETFs would bring stability and sticky, long-term capital. This week's data punches a hole in that theory, showing these instruments can also serve as the most efficient conduit for rapid flight. It turns out providing a seamless off-ramp works both ways—a feature seemingly appreciated more during downturns than uptrends.
The Silver Lining Playbook
For the true believers and tactical traders, this presents a contrarian signal. Extreme outflows often coincide with short-term sentiment capitulation, potentially setting the stage for a relief rally. The infrastructure itself—the plumbing that allowed $1.82 billion to exit smoothly—remains intact and proven. The next big inflow will use the same pipes. In the meantime, traditional finance pundits are undoubtedly smugly noting that 'even your newfangled ETFs can't suspend the laws of financial gravity'—as if their own legacy funds never see redemptions. The exodus is brutal, but it's not an epitaph. It's the market's ruthless, real-time grading system.
BlackRock investors draw $528 million from iBIT ETF in a single day
On Friday, BlackRock’s iBIT was the only fund to record outflows, totaling $528.30 million. Data from Sosovalue also shows that the funds have lost more than $3.3 billion over the last two weeks. In those two weeks, only January 26 recorded net inflows of just $6.84 million.
Ethereum ETFs recorded $368.66 million in negative flows in the week ending January 30, with the most outflows being $252.87 million recorded on Friday. Thursday saw the second-largest withdrawals of the week, totaling $155.61 million. In the last two weeks, beginning January 20, Ether ETFs only received net positive flows for two days, with the rest marking double and triple-digit outflows.
The dread I see from bitcoiners (and the football spiking from the haters) is very short-sighted to me given that since 2022 (right before the BlackRock ETF filing) bitcoin is up 429%, gold 177%, Silver 350%, QQQ 140%. In other words bitcoin spanked everything so bad in '23 and… pic.twitter.com/SPNB9RTdzv
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 27, 2026
Senior Bloomberg ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas wrote on X that, despite the recent sell-off, Bitcoin is still up 429% since 2022, before BlackRock filed its spot Bitcoin ETF. On the same timeline, Gold is up only 177% while Silver has managed 350%.
Balchunas continued, saying that Bitcoin performed exceptionally well in 2023 and 2024 and that other asset classes have not been able to match its returns despite their best year ever. Balchunas added that the recent BTC sell-off is a result of Bitcoin’s institutionalization. He added that Bitcoin’s price moved quickly, so the digital asset had to take a breather to allow “the actual narrative” to catch up with “the price.”
Data from CoinMarketCap shows that Bitcoin is down 8% over the last seven days and is currently trading at $82,833, a price last seen in November 2025. The crypto asset is down about 5% YTD and 34.34% from its all-time high of $126,198.07 registered on October 6, 2025. Ethereum is down 3.77% over the last 24 hours, bringing its seven-day decline to 10.98%. The crypto asset is currently trading at $2,632 and has declined by more than 10% YTD.
Precious metals hit an all-time high before crashing by double digits
As the crypto market continues to decline, investors have found comfort in precious metals. Gold and silver hit new all-time highs last week. Silver peaked at $120 while gold hovered around $5,600. However, the party was short-lived, as precious metals were not immune to market volatility.
Just after visiting ATHs, Gold futures fell as much as 13% intraday on Friday, sliding below $4,900 per troy ounce and erasing a substantial portion of their year-to-date gains in a single session. On the other hand, Silver crashed by nearly 40% on Friday, wiping out nearly all the gains it had been making since the year began.
Silver’s market crash has raised concerns about market manipulation, according to a recent report by Cryptopolitan. The report noted that Silver was trading at two different prices in the U.S. and Shanghai. The precious metal was trading at around $92 in the U.S. (COMEX), while physical Silver in Shanghai, China, costs $130, a 40% premium in the Asian country at the time of reporting.
However, Ole S Hansen, Saxo Bank’s head of commodity strategy, wrote on X that Silver can rise but only for so long without finally depleting demand and causing a rush of supply from scrap sellers. He then said that Gold will remain the ultimate SAFE haven.
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