US spot Bitcoin ETFs logged their ninth straight day of net outflows on May 28, with $228.88 million exiting the 13-fund lineup. The latest bleed was led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which alone lost $177.94 million. Grayscale’s GBTC shed $26.19 million and Fidelity’s FBTC gave up $19.16 million. The streak, running since May 14, has now pulled more than $2 billion out of these products.
The numbers behind the streak
Wednesday’s outflows extended what’s become the longest sustained withdrawal period for the US spot ETF cohort. Since the streak began, over $2 billion in net assets have been redeemed. Yet the funds still hold a combined $94.25 billion in net assets — roughly 6.39% of Bitcoin’s total market cap. Cumulative net inflows since the ETFs launched stand at $55.79 billion, meaning the recent redemptions have trimmed but not erased the institutional accumulation that built up over the prior year.
Bitcoin itself was trading at $73,504 at press time, down 5.39% over the past seven days and about 42% below its October 2025 record above $126,000.
Why investors are pulling back
Market participants point to a hawkish shift at the Federal Reserve and ongoing US-Iran tensions as the main drivers of the risk-off mood. Goldman Sachs recently pushed its forecast for the next Fed rate cut to December 2026, and rising oil prices have lifted core inflation back above the Fed’s 2% target. For institutional investors who piled into spot Bitcoin ETFs during the 2025 bull run, that macro backdrop makes a rate-sensitive asset like Bitcoin less attractive in the near term.
Still a long way from a rout
It’s easy to overstate the damage. The $2 billion-plus in outflows over nine days is real, but the funds still oversee $94 billion. The cumulative inflow figure means that even after this streak, the ETFs have taken in more than $55 billion net since their launch. That’s a sign that the bulk of institutional money hasn’t fled — it’s just sitting tight or rotating out in small chunks. The timing, though, isn’t great: Bitcoin’s price has been sliding alongside the outflows, reinforcing the sell-off.
What’s next for the streak
The next Fed meeting is in June, and markets will be watching for any shift in language on rates. Until the central bank signals a willingness to cut or US-Iran tensions ease, the risk-off stance could persist. No one expects a stampede out of these ETFs — the $55 billion in cumulative inflows shows too much committed capital for that — but the streak could easily stretch into double digits if macro conditions don’t improve. For now, the outflow count sits at nine and counting.
