US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded their eleventh consecutive trading day of net outflows. On the most recent trading day alone, USD 483.8 million left the products. As a result, Bitcoin ETF outflows reached a new negative record.
Bitcoin ETFs are exchange-traded funds that hold physical Bitcoin directly. As a result, institutional and retail investors can gain Bitcoin exposure through regulated securities accounts without having to custody the coins themselves. The SEC initially approved the products in January 2024. Since then, they generated cumulative net inflows of USD 55 billion through the end of May 2026. Notably, BlackRock's IBIT remained the largest single fund at more than USD 25 billion in 2025 alone. The current outflow streak adds up to USD 3.45 billion over eleven days. Consequently, it surpasses the previous record of nine consecutive losing days.
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IBIT as the outflow epicenter of the record losing streak
The eleventh consecutive losing day marks a new negative record for the still-young ETF market. In total, USD 483.8 million flowed out of the products that day. Of that, USD 440.3 million came from BlackRock's IBIT alone, accounting for roughly 91 percent of the entire daily outflow. This dominance is no coincidence but a structural finding. Therefore, the largest Bitcoin ETF is at the same time the largest driver of the outflows. What gets lost at such a degree of concentration is the role of the remaining providers, whose movements barely register in the shadow of the industry leader.
The escalation had already begun the previous week. On 28 May, IBIT lost USD 527.84 million, the second-largest daily outflow since the market launch. Therefore, it sat only just below the absolute record from January 2024. A day earlier, a single actor had offloaded shares worth USD 1.29 billion through a dark-pool transaction. According to Galaxy analyst Alex Thorn, this was one of the largest such transactions ever observed. As the only counterweight on the most recent trading day, by contrast, Morgan Stanley's MSBT recorded a comparatively marginal net inflow of USD 6.14 million.
Cumulatively, the outflows add up to USD 3.45 billion over the eleven days. The current streak therefore sits well above the previous record of nine consecutive losing days. Notably, the market had only reported that record in late May at USD 2.8 billion at the time. Consequently, downward pressure is intensifying faster than the previous comparison figures suggested.
May 2026 as the worst month in half a year
The most recent daily figures are not isolated noise. All of May 2026 closed with a net outflow of USD 2.43 billion. Therefore, it marks the largest monthly outflow of the current year. Three daily peaks additionally shaped the pattern: USD 635 million on 13 May, USD 649 million on 18 May, and USD 733 million on 27 May. The pressure therefore built up gradually over the month instead of staying confined to a single outlier.
In the final week of May, crypto products recorded outflows of USD 1.67 billion. Furthermore, this marked the third negative week in a row and the second-largest weekly outflow of the year. The selling pressure is therefore not limited to the US spot products but extends across the broader investment segment. At the same time, the market's foundation remains intact. Specifically, cumulative net inflows since launch still amount to USD 55.23 billion, and assets under management stand at USD 105 billion. The current streak thus erodes the cushion but does not reverse the long-term balance.
Macro risks drive institutional caution
The immediate trigger of the recent pressure lies in the geopolitical environment. In early June, Iran ended its ceasefire negotiations with the United States and threatened a full blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. US President Trump then declared that the US Navy would prevent the blockade. Bitcoin fell to a daily low of around USD 70,200 in this environment and lost 3.6 percent within 24 hours. The price had already broken below the USD 71,000 mark the day before. Gold rose by contrast. Consequently, Bitcoin reacted as a risk asset during this phase rather than as a safe haven.
Behind the daily volatility, structural macro drivers are additionally at work. Rising inflation, higher Treasury yields, and fading hopes for interest rate cuts weigh on the risk appetite of institutional investors. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index consequently fell to a value of 31, thus signaling pronounced fear in the market. What is striking is that the persistent caution has held over more than ten trading days. Therefore, it points less to a single event than to a broader repricing. This sentiment is thus reflected directly in the fund movements of the ETFs.
The Strategy sale and the end of a narrative foundation
Additional pressure on sentiment came from a move by Strategy, the company formerly trading as MicroStrategy. Between 26 and 31 May, the firm first sold 32 BTC at an average price of USD 77,135, thereby generating proceeds of USD 2.5 million. The purpose was a dividend payment on the STRC preferred share. It was furthermore the first Bitcoin sale since December 2022, when the company had offloaded 704 BTC for tax loss harvesting. Measured against the total holding of more than 843,700 BTC at a cost basis of USD 75,699, the sale corresponds to just 0.0038 percent of the position.
The symbolic effect, however, clearly exceeded the economic significance. Michael Saylor had positioned Bitcoin for years as an asset that one never sells. The first sale in more than three years shook this narrative foundation, especially since Saylor had already announced the move on the first-quarter earnings call. The announcement came at an inopportune time and accelerated the already ongoing price decline instead of cushioning it. MSTR shares reacted on the day of the disclosure with a decline of 4.72 percent to USD 151.57.
Beyond the individual factors, a broader reallocation is emerging. Analysts additionally point to an institutional rotation out of crypto ETFs into AI-related stocks, which recorded strong inflows in the first half of 2026. While capital flows out of the Bitcoin products, it is therefore searching for returns elsewhere. The current outflows thus reflect a multifaceted risk-off reflex rather than a structural confidence problem with Bitcoin itself.
