Spot Bitcoin ETFs bleed $782M during Christmas week amid ‘holiday positioning’

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded heavy outflows over Christmas week, with investors pulling a combined $782 million from the products, according to data from SoSoValue.

The most significant single-day withdrawal during the period occurred on Friday, when spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs posted $276 million in net outflows. BlackRock’s IBIT led the losses with nearly $193 million exiting the fund, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC at $74 million. Grayscale’s GBTC also continued to see modest redemptions.

Total net assets across US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs fell to roughly $113.5 billion by Friday, down from peaks above $120 billion earlier in December, even as Bitcoin prices held relatively steady near the $87,000 level.

Notably, Friday marked the sixth consecutive day of net outflows for spot Bitcoin ETFs, making it the longest withdrawal streak since early autumn. Over this six-day stretch, cumulative outflows exceeded $1.1 billion.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs performance in December. Source: SoSoValue

Related: Different types of ETFs, explained – Cointelegraph

Holiday outflows likely temporary

Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research, said Bitcoin ETF outflows during the Christmas period are not unusual, pointing to “holiday positioning” and thinner liquidity rather than a breakdown in underlying demand.

“As desks return in early January, institutional flows typically re-engage and normalize,” he told Cointelegraph.

Looking ahead, Liu expects conditions to improve in early January as institutions return and capital flows normalize. He added that a potential shift toward Federal Reserve easing in 2026 could further support ETF demand, with rate markets already pricing in 75 to 100 basis points of cuts.

“Rates markets are already pricing ~75–100 bps of cuts, pointing to easing momentum. Next, bank-led crypto infrastructure keeps scaling, reducing friction for large allocators,” he said.

Related: Crypto downturn reveals gap between VC valuations and market cap

Crypto ETF outflows signal cooling institutional demand

In a recent report, Glassnode said that Bitcoin and Ether ETFs have entered a sustained outflow phase, suggesting institutional investors are pulling back from crypto exposure. Since early November, the 30-day moving average of net flows into US spot Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) ETFs has remained negative, pointing to muted participation as broader market liquidity tightens.

As ETFs are widely viewed as a proxy for institutional sentiment, the prolonged outflows indicate a shift away from crypto among large allocators after a year in which institutions were a major market driver.

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