In brief
- BlackRock’s IBIT logged a record $463 million one-day outflow on November 14.
- Global crypto ETPs saw $2 billion in weekly outflows, the largest since February.
- U.S. funds drove 97% of redemptions, while Germany posted modest inflows.
Crypto exchange-traded products were hit with their heaviest withdrawals since February last week, with global outflows reaching $2 billion as investors retreated on rising macroeconomic uncertainty.
The exodus was punctuated by a record single-day withdrawal from BlackRock’s flagship Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, which saw $463.1 million leave the fund on November 14, per data from Farside Investors.
The wave of redemptions pushed Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs sharply lower, driving down assets under management across digital asset products.
Nicolai Sondergaard, research analyst at Nansen, said the mechanics behind the flows are straightforward. “The market is going down lately and as such, it is expected that ETFs see outflows as people want to take their money out of the market,” he told Decrypt.
He added that flows are likely to remain tied to macroeconomic direction. “Depending on where the market is going, which would likely depend on broader macro factors and policies, ETF flows will continue to go out or come back if markets turn for the better.”
Three weeks of outflows
The scale of the ETF market puts last week’s turbulence into context. Digital asset ETPs, which peaked at $264 billion in early October, have now slid to $191 billion in assets under management, a 27% decline, according to Coinshares’ weekly report. Last week marked the third consecutive week of outflows, bringing the three-week total to $3.2 billion.
The combination of hawkish monetary-policy expectations, crypto-native whale selling, and a broader risk-off shift has pushed global investors to de-risk, with Bitcoin and Ethereum ETPs bearing the brunt. At the same time, demand has rotated toward multi-asset and short-Bitcoin strategies as traders brace for continued volatility.
The U.S. accounted for 97% of global outflows, about $1.97 billion, as American funds saw the sharpest investor retreat. Switzerland followed distantly with $39.9 million in redemptions, while Hong Kong posted $12.3 million in outflows.
Germany stood out however, attracting $13.2 million in inflows as investors there treated price weakness as a buying opportunity.
Laurent Benayoun, CEO of Acheron Trading, told Decrypt that ETF flows will hinge heavily on broader economic data and policy decisions going forward. “Subsequent outflows depend on the confluence of negative macro factors,” he said, such as poor employment data or a hawkish Fed stance, as well as continued downward price movements.
Conversely, positive news on tariffs, crypto US regulatory framework, treasury reserves and rate cuts could translate to “equally positive market sentiment,” Benayoun added, leading to “a price reversal rather than materializing a real market downturn.”
Johnny Garcia, head of institutional growth at VeChain and a former Vanguard staffer, emphasized that ETF flows should not be mistaken for a precise market-timing signal. “ETFs have diverse sets of users and therefore the drivers behind flow are equally diverse—portfolio rebalancing, hedging, rotations, arbitrage,” he said. The depth and liquidity of ETP markets, he added, make them a natural venue for expressing short-term and long-term views alike.
Garcia also cautioned against reading too much into near-term flows. “Opining on short-term ETF flows, while fun, borders on speculation,” he said. He noted that in the U.S. alone, the three largest spot crypto ETPs have brought in over $100 billion in flows in under two years, attracting not only retail investors but also prop-trading firms and long-horizon allocators such as university endowments.
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