In short
The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) recorded $275.2 million in outflows on October 16, its largest single-day exodus since August 1, when the fund shed $327.9 million.
Bitcoin ETFs collectively bled $530.9 million Thursday, capping a brutal week that noticed $858.7 million flee the merchandise, with solely Tuesday breaking the outflow streak.
Analysts pointed to final Friday’s tariff-triggered $19 billion liquidation occasion and upcoming FOMC assembly as key components driving defensive institutional positioning.
ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) recorded $275.2 million in outflows on Thursday, marking its steepest single-day capital flight since August 1, when the fund shed $327.9 million.
The withdrawal contributed to a brutal Thursday throughout Bitcoin ETFs, which collectively bled $530.9 million, based on Farside Traders knowledge.
BlackRock’s IBIT misplaced $29.5 million, Constancy’s FBTC dropped $132 million, and Grayscale’s GBTC shed $45 million, pointing to a broad institutional retreat from Bitcoin publicity.
The week proved punishing for Bitcoin merchandise total, with $858.7 million in internet outflows and solely Tuesday breaking the exodus with a single day of inflows.
The exodus comes as markets proceed to soak up shocks from President Donald Trump’s 100% tariff announcement on China final Friday, which triggered the biggest liquidation occasion in crypto historical past with $19 billion in leveraged positions worn out inside 24 hours.
China on Thursday nodded openness to commerce talks whereas accusing the U.S. of making “panic” over Beijing’s uncommon earth export controls, providing a possible off-ramp as each nations work towards a deliberate assembly between Trump and President Xi Jinping in South Korea later this month.
Markets flip risk-off
“There’s a short-medium time period shift, particularly submit the feedback on final Friday in the direction of a extra risk-off state, particularly given market exuberance throughout threat belongings and uncorrelated belongings over the previous couple of months,” Ganesh Mahidhar, Funding Skilled at Additional Ventures, instructed Decrypt.
The mix of the Ethereum-based USDe stablecoin’s depeg on Friday and a social media-driven boycott motion towards Binance has pushed considerations about systemic threat again into focus, significantly at this stage of the post-halving Bitcoin cycle, he added.
Regardless of managing simply 50,000 BTC versus BlackRock’s 800,000 and Constancy’s 210,000, ARKB “is mostly one of many funds main the cost” on outflow days, Sean Dawson, Head of Analysis at Derive, instructed Decrypt, including how “ARK’s holdings have held constantly within the 40-50K BTC since March 2024.”
ARK’s fund sees “buyers extra often rotate out and in of BTC as a speculative asset” in comparison with BlackRock and Constancy’s autos, which home longer-term holders, he mentioned.
Whether or not the Bitcoin ETF outflow streak continues is determined by upcoming catalysts, significantly the Federal Reserve’s October 29 FOMC assembly and the continuing Q3 earnings season, Mahidhar mentioned.
“Market exuberance must be supported by income and money circulate progress in U.S. markets — if that occurs and the FOMC assembly goes effectively, we may even see a staunching within the bleed out,” he famous.
Bitcoin is buying and selling at $104,629, down 6.3% within the final 24 hours, based on CoinGecko knowledge, nonetheless nursing losses from the tariff-triggered crash.
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