Bitcoin ETFs Lose Another $166M as Five-Week Withdrawals Near $4B

Bitcoin ETFs logged another day of outflows Thursday, extending a five-week losing streak that has now erased nearly $4 billion from the products.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw $165.76 million in net outflows on February 19, marking the third consecutive day of redemptions, according to SoSoValue data. The latest withdrawals bring the five-week total to just under $4 billion, following weekly outflows of $403.9 million, $359.9 million, $318.1 million, $1.49 billion, and $1.33 billion since mid-January.

The sustained outflows test whether institutional appetite for Bitcoin exposure is cooling or simply resetting after a strong 2025, with experts divided on whether the bleeding reflects structural weakness or a controlled deleveraging.

Bitcoin has bucked the bearish trend, edging up 1.4% over the past 24 hours to around $67,800, according to CoinGecko data, lifting the total crypto market cap by 1.6% to $2.4 trillion. Major altcoins, including Hyperliquid, Avalanche and Sui, have notched gains of around 4% in the same period, even as ETF flows remain in negative territory.

The rebound has improved sentiment, with users on prediction market Myriad, owned by Decrypt’s parent company, assigning a 44% chance of Bitcoin rallying to $84,000—up 8% on the day.

Retreat or recalibration?

For Brickken analyst Enmanuel Cardozo, the ETF outflows tell a story of recalibration rather than retreat.

“After a strong 2025, it’s natural to see leveraged funds and short-term allocators reduce exposure, especially in the current macro environment, which is still uncertain and thus volatile,” Cardozo told Decrypt.

“This does not resemble institutional capitulation,” he added. “The outflows represent a small fraction of total ETF assets under management, and cumulative net inflows since launch remain decisively positive.”

Cardozo acknowledged Bitcoin’s structural demand, expecting the pace of outflows to rebalance if leverage drops, leading to price stabilization.

Illia Otychenko, lead analyst at CEX.IO, offered a more cautious view, noting that Bitcoin has struggled to maintain bullish momentum under both of its core narratives. “On the store-of-value side, the rally in gold reduced Bitcoin’s appeal as a digital alternative,” he told Decrypt. “At the same time, the ongoing AI-driven equity boom has drawn speculative capital toward tech stocks instead of crypto.”

“ETF outflows have largely mirrored Bitcoin’s price action rather than caused it,” Otychenko said. “In many ways, ETFs have acted as an amplifier of broader market weakness, with redemptions accelerating during price declines.”

He pointed to on-chain signals suggesting selling pressure remains relatively strong and highlighted the weakness in the recent Bitcoin bounce, noting that it “occurred on declining trading volume, which suggests conviction from buyers is still limited.”

As a result, the CEX.IO analyst expects a prolonged market consolidation or another decisive move before selling pressure extinguishes. “Unless Bitcoin shows a confident shift from bearish to bullish momentum, ETF outflows could continue in the near term,” he said.