Bitcoin ETFs See $635 Million Outflow After Strong Rally
After a brief wave of inflows, investors pulled $635 million out of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. DWF Labs says selling often speeds up once BTC closes about 7% below its 20-day high.
Key Takeaways
- U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $635.49 million in outflows on October 22, after $528.40 million in inflows a day earlier.
- According to SoSoValue, this was the biggest daily outflow since June 25 and ended a three-day streak of inflows totaling about $1.08 billion.
- DWF Labs says ETF investors are more likely to sell when Bitcoin closes about 7% below its 20-day high; on October 22, BTC was still 5.9% below that level.
Investors pulled $635.49 million (€567 million) out of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs on October 22, while Bitcoin still had not fallen far enough to hit the level where ETF investors have historically sold the most. A day earlier, $528.40 million (€472 million) flowed into the same funds. So the outflows started before BTC reached the usual breaking point.
Outflows After a Short Inflow Streak
According to SoSoValue, this was the biggest daily outflow since June 25. That ended a three-day streak of inflows worth about $1.08 billion (€1 billion) in total. For October, net inflows are now at an outflow of about $174.5 million (€156 million).
That reversal stands out because the funds still pulled in $526.6 million (€470 million) on October 19, the strongest day since September 22. So the money flow cooled off quickly after Bitcoin lost momentum from its recent rebound. Also, the October 19 inflow showed how fast sentiment in this market can turn.
DWF Labs Sees a Clear Selling Line
New research from DWF Labs shows that ETF investors are more likely to sell once Bitcoin closes about 7% below its 20-day high. The crypto market maker looked at spot Bitcoin ETF flows since January 2024 and found that average daily inflows then flip to outflows. In 19 of the 24 cases, the flows got worse after that.
Based on daily closing prices from Binance, Bitcoin on October 22 closed about 5.9% below the October 4 high, which was around $86,530 (€77,200). That puts the 7% threshold at around $80,470 (€71,800). DWF also noted that ETF flows often move with the price, and that this pattern has shown up more often since the launch of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs in early 2024.
Why This Matters for Europe
For European crypto followers, this shows how much spot Bitcoin ETFs now matter in Bitcoin price action. Since their launch in early 2024, the products have pulled in billions in institutional money, which means price moves now feed through to inflow and outflow trends more quickly. That makes this kind of U.S. data relevant outside the U.S. too, for the broader crypto market picture.
