Investors withdrew $643 million from US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Friday, marking a significant reversal after four consecutive days of inflows. This single-day exit pushed October’s net flows into negative territory, resulting in $515 million in net outflows for the month—the first negative monthly performance since June. Despite this downturn, the funds maintained approximately $361 million in net inflows for the year through October.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accounted for the largest portion of Friday’s withdrawals at $234 million, followed by Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) with $201 million. The outflows coincided with heightened market volatility following Binance’s confirmation that hackers had stolen about $6.3 billion in crypto assets. Bitcoin prices dropped to $77,000 on Thursday amid these developments.
Parallel pressure was observed in Ether markets, where investors pulled a net $156 million from US spot Ether ETFs on Friday. These withdrawals contributed to a record $1.61 billion in net outflows for Ether ETFs in October, surpassing the previous monthly high of $1.42 billion set in November 2025. Consequently, October’s losses erased the Ether funds’ net inflows for 2026, leaving them with roughly $45 million in net outflows for the year.
The simultaneous surge in outflows across Bitcoin and Ether ETFs indicates that institutional and retail sentiment is highly sensitive to security breaches in major centralized exchanges. While BlackRock and Fidelity dominate the asset management side, their reliance on specific custody partners like Coinbase introduces operational risk vectors that can trigger rapid capital flight when confidence in broader infrastructure wanes. The scale of the Binance hack, valued at $6.3 billion, serves as a catalyst that transcends individual fund performance, affecting the entire spot ETF ecosystem.
Market structure implications are evident in the divergence between short-term panic selling and long-term accumulation trends. Although October marked a negative turn for Bitcoin ETFs, the year-to-date positive balance suggests underlying demand remains intact despite acute shocks. However, the record-breaking outflows from Ether ETFs highlight a potential fragmentation in investor confidence between major digital assets, possibly driven by differing perceptions of network resilience or custody solutions. Monitoring whether these outflows stabilize or accelerate will be critical for assessing the durability of ETF-driven price support mechanisms.
