Spot Bitcoin ETFs record highest daily net outflows

Market sentiments have quickly turned bearish, as the spot Bitcoin ETFs record their highest daily net outflows amid Bitcoin’s (BTC) drop to the lower spectrum of the $60,000 territory.

According to data provided by Farside Investors, a U.K.-based investment management firm, the spot Bitcoin ETF products experienced net outflows totaling $326.2 million on March 19, marking the second consecutive day of daily outflows. 

This figure comes a week after the ETFs hit record inflows exceeding $1 billion on March 12.

Recall that these investment products ended a 10-day run of persistent inflows on March 18, when they recorded capital outflows totaling $154.3 million. The current two-day losing streak reflects a prevailing bearish sentiment amid Bitcoin’s price downturn.

Moreover, Bitcoin has persistently retraced the gains achieved during the recent market surge to $73,000. Following its all-time high of $73,750 on March 14, the cryptocurrency has experienced continual declines, marking a decrease of over 11% in the last week. This downward trend has exacerbated the decline in bullish pressure.

The latest ETF outflow of $326 million marks the largest daily net flow out of the spot Bitcoin ETFs, far surpassing the previous record of $158.4 million on Jan. 24. Data shows that the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) championed most of these outflows, recording $443 million in capital exit.

Interestingly, the bearish outcome on March 19 did not stem from heightened outflows from these investment products, but rather from diminished inflows. Data shows that all products, excluding those from BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, and Bitwise, recorded a net flow of $0.

This indicates that while the ETFs failed to procure more BTC, investors did not notably withdraw their funds. BlackRock’s IBIT, Fidelity Investments’ FBTC and Bitwise’s BITB saw a combined inflow of $117.3 million, but this figure was not sufficient to offset the $443 million outflow solely recorded by Grayscale’s ETF.

Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, predicted this bearish turn of events in a recent statement. Thielen argued that the spot Bitcoin ETF market could see a drop in capital inflows as Bitcoin corrects the gains of the latest market uptrend.