BTC ETF trading volume collapses 78% from October peak

The 30-day simple moving average of US spot Bitcoin ETF trading volume has fallen from $4.4 billion per day in October 2025 to $0.96 billion per day, a 78% contraction over roughly eight months. The data, sourced from Glassnode, marks one of the sharpest sustained pullbacks in institutional trading activity since spot BTC ETFs launched in early 2024.

Why it matters

The ETF volume decline does not stand alone. Glassnode separately tracked the 30D-SMA of total trading volume across Bitcoin treasury companies — the so-called DAT equities — and found a 49% drop from $34.2 billion per day in December 2025 to $17.4 billion per day today. Both the ETF channel and the listed-equity channel are telling the same story: speculative appetite for Bitcoin exposure through traditional financial wrappers has pulled back sharply from its late-2025 peak.

Market impact

The convergence of these two signals matters because ETFs and DAT equities represent the two primary conduits through which TradFi participants access BTC without holding spot directly. When both compress simultaneously, it suggests the retreat is structural rather than a rotation between vehicles. Glassnode notes that speculative interest in DAT equities tracks BTC spot price closely — as spot has pulled back, leveraged exposure through treasury vehicles has followed, cutting activity roughly in half from peak levels. Investors watching for a recovery in institutional engagement will want to see the 30D-SMA of ETF volume stabilise and reverse before reading the broader trend as exhausted.

Source: [Just a moment...](https://studio.glassnode.com/charts/institutions.UsSpotEtfVolumeTotal?a=BTC&c=usd&chartStyle=line&mAvg=30&pScl=lin&s=1707352669&u=1781136000&zoom=)