CoinDesk
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs logged their longest and deepest withdrawal streak on record, with roughly $3.45 billion in net outflows across eleven consecutive sessions through Monday as BTC slid toward $70,000. The latest session alone shed $484 million, per SoSoValue data, while BTC dropped 4% during the Asian trading day.
The eleven-session run, which began May 15, surpasses the eight-day record set in February 2025 and marks the most sustained institutional retreat since the funds debuted in January 2024. It coincides with a sharp rotation into AI and semiconductor equities — Nvidia added roughly 6% — suggesting risk capital is choosing the AI trade over the BTC trade rather than leaving the market entirely.
Why it matters
The bid that lifted BTC through the first half of the year was institutional in character: spot ETF accumulation plus corporate treasury buying led by Strategy. Both pillars are now softening simultaneously. Strategy disclosed its first BTC sale since December 2022 — 32 BTC for roughly $2.5 million to cover preferred-stock distributions — a small dollar amount but a symbolic break from Michael Saylor's buy-and-hold posture. CryptoQuant's latest weekly report warned that BTC is becoming "a market of holders rather than buyers," with ETF and treasury accumulation slowing markedly over recent months.
Market impact
The rotation framing matters because it reframes the selloff from a risk-off event into a sector rotation: AI equities are absorbing the marginal risk dollar that BTC ETFs used to capture. Watch the next two sessions for either a continuation of the streak — which would confirm the institutional bid is structurally throttling — or a single net-positive day that breaks the record and signals profit-taking rather than a regime shift. The $70,000 level is the immediate technical pivot; a clean break opens the door to a retest of the prior consolidation range.
Frequently asked questions
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How long is the current spot BTC ETF outflow streak?
Eleven consecutive sessions through Monday, with roughly $3.45 billion in net redemptions — the longest streak since the funds debuted in January 2024, per SoSoValue.
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How much left the funds in the latest session?
Investors withdrew $484 million in the most recent session, helping push BTC down 4% during the Asian trading day.
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Did Strategy actually sell a meaningful amount of BTC?
Only 32 BTC for roughly $2.5 million — a trivial share of holdings — but it marked Strategy's first BTC sale since December 2022, breaking with months of buy-and-hold messaging.
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Is this a risk-off move or a rotation?
More likely a rotation. Nvidia added roughly 6% in the same window, and AI and semiconductor names are absorbing the risk capital that spot BTC ETFs captured earlier this year.
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What is CryptoQuant saying about BTC demand?
CryptoQuant's latest weekly report warned that BTC is becoming a market of holders rather than buyers, with ETF and corporate treasury accumulation slowing markedly in recent months.
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