Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) widened losses on Wednesday as the BTC price neared $70,000, adding to pressure on digital asset markets.
According to Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETFs saw outflows of $545 million that day, pushing weekly flows to negative and net outflows of $255 million, according to SoSoValue data.
Year-to-date, the funds have attracted $3.5 billion in inflows but have seen $5.4 billion in redemptions, leaving them negative by $1.8 billion. The total value of assets under management is USD 93.5 billion.
The bearish ETF sentiment reflects broader market weakness, with total cryptocurrency market capitalization down around 20% year-to-date, from around $3 trillion to $2.5 trillion at press time. According to this CoinGecko.
Bitcoin ETF HODL investors, with just 6% of assets leaving the market
Despite suffering the biggest losses since launching two years ago, some analysts say Bitcoin ETFs are immune to market volatility.
With cumulative net inflows of $54.8 billion in spot Bitcoin ETFs, the market is down just 13% from its peak of $62.9 billion last October.
“That’s not too bad considering these funds made about $63 billion at their peak,” Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart he said in post X on Wednesday.
Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, said most Bitcoin ETF investors maintained their positions despite the recent economic downturn.
Balchunas estimated that only about 6% of total assets have left the funds, even though Bitcoin prices have plummeted and many investors remain underwater.
He too mentioned that the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) saw its assets drop to $60 billion after peaking at $100 billion “for a hot second.”
Related: Bitcoin ETFs rebound by $562 million after $1.5 billion sell-off as unfavorable conditions persist
“It could stay at this level for the next three years and it would still be the fastest ETF ever to hit [$]60 billion,” he added.
In the context of large outflows from Bitcoin ETFs, altcoin funds also saw mixed flows. Ether ETFs (ETH) saw an outflow of $79.5 million on Wednesday, while XRP funds (XRP) saw a modest inflow of $4.8 million. Meanwhile, the Solana ETF (SOL) saw an outflow of $6.7 million.
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