Spot Bitcoin ETFs just logged their first 10-day streak of net outflows — a stretch that erased billions from the funds. The selling was concentrated in BlackRock's IBIT, the largest and most liquid of the bunch. Yet the odd part: traders haven't fled. Futures and options positioning still points to a crowd betting on a recovery.
BlackRock's IBIT leads the charge out
The outflow streak, which started around May 22 and ran through June 1, marks an unprecedented stretch for the ETF category. IBIT accounted for the bulk of the redemptions, with other funds seeing relatively modest withdrawals. Grayscale's GBTC, which bled cash for months after converting to a spot ETF, actually saw a few days of inflows during the same period, but not enough to flip the aggregate numbers positive.
The exact dollar figure isn't public in real time, but the pattern is clear: institutional money that piled into IBIT early this year is taking some profits — or hedging. The 10-day run is the longest since the ETFs launched in January 2024, and it's the first time the streak crossed double digits.
What the streak says about sentiment
On its face, 10 straight days of outflows sounds like a crisis. But the price action tells a different story. Bitcoin has held relatively steady, bouncing around the mid-$60,000 range, which suggests the ETFs aren't the only game in town. OTC desks and direct buyers have absorbed some of the selling.
More tellingly, the futures market hasn't flipped. The CME bitcoin futures premium — a rough proxy for institutional appetite — has stayed in neutral territory, not flashing panic. Options open interest for calls at strikes above $70,000 remains elevated. That's not the behavior of a market that expects a crash.
Traders aren't backing down
The positioning data backs up the contrarian read. Despite the ETF outflows, traders are still net-long in perpetual swaps and have loaded up on bullish options for June and July expiry. Some of that could be a bet that the outflow streak exhausts itself soon — or that fresh catalysts, like a potential Fed rate cut in July, will reignite inflows.
There's also the possibility that the outflows are rotation, not abandonment. Money leaving IBIT might be moving into cheaper or more tax-efficient structures elsewhere, or simply taking chips off the table after a strong first quarter. The key is that the bullish conviction hasn't cracked.
What comes next
The 10-day streak may stretch to 11 or 12 if profit-taking persists. But the real test is whether the next batch of macro data — jobs numbers due Friday, CPI mid-June — shifts the narrative. If inflation ticks down again, rate-cut hopes could rekindle demand for risk assets, including bitcoin. If inflation stays sticky, the outflows could accelerate.
For now, the market is holding its breath. The ETFs are bleeding, but the traders who matter haven't blinked.
