U.S. spot bitcoin funds have now bled money for 11 straight days through Monday — the longest losing streak since those ETFs debuted in 2024. The selloff topped $3.4 billion, the biggest outflow event in the history of bitcoin exchange-traded products, as investors yanked cash out of crypto and piled into AI-driven stocks instead.
A record-breaking redemption run
The previous longest outflow streak for spot bitcoin ETFs was just six days, set back in early 2025. This time it's nearly double that. Eleven straight days of net redemptions, each day pulling more money out than came in, erased a sizable chunk of the inflows that had built up during the crypto rally earlier this year.
$3.4 billion is a lot, even for a market that trades billions a day. It's the largest single ETF-related outflow event for bitcoin, period. For context, the previous record holders were far smaller — this one blew past them in both duration and raw dollar value.
Where the money went
Investors didn't just go to cash. They rotated. The same capital that had been sitting in bitcoin funds moved into AI-driven equity markets, which kept rallying through the same period. That's a clear signal: traders saw AI stocks as the hotter bet during this stretch, and bitcoin ETFs took the hit.
The rotation happened fast. As AI-themed indexes and funds posted gains, money managers rebalanced away from crypto exposure. No single catalyst kicked it off — just a steady drift as returns in tech outperformed the flat-to-down action in bitcoin.
What it says about the market
The timing isn't great for bitcoin bulls. Eleven days of uninterrupted outflows suggests more than just profit-taking. It looks like a structural shift in sentiment, at least for now. The ETFs were supposed to bring steady institutional money into bitcoin, but this week shows that money can leave just as quickly — especially when a shinier asset class like AI stocks comes calling.
It's also a reminder that bitcoin ETFs are still competing for the same institutional dollars as other hot sectors. When AI equities catch a bid, crypto tends to lose share. That dynamic isn't new, but this is the most dramatic example yet.
The big question is whether the redemptions stop here or stretch into a third week. Tuesday's data will tell the first part of the story. If the streak hits 12, it'll set another record and likely spook more short-term holders. If it finally snaps, the market can start rebuilding confidence.
For now, the money that left crypto hasn't come back. And until it does, the bitcoin ETF story is written in red.
