Crypto ETFs See 5th Straight Week of Outflows: When Will It End?!

Five weeks. That's how long money has been walking out the door on crypto ETFs, and the tab now sits at $4 billion in cumulative net outflows. The streak, confirmed in CoinShares' latest weekly report, marks one of the longest sustained withdrawal periods since early 2025. But before you start dusting off your "crypto winter" survival kit, the picture is more nuanced than the headline suggests.

How Bad Are the Numbers?

The most recent week ending around February 21 saw $288 million leave digital asset investment products, with Ether products shedding $36.5 million on top of Bitcoin's $215 million in outflows. Multi-asset funds lost $32.5 million. The heaviest single week in the streak landed on January 30, when around $1.49 billion poured out in one shot.

The big names are feeling it. BlackRock's IBIT and Fidelity's FBTC have taken repeated hits, with single-day outflows topping $84 million and $49 million, respectively, at their worst. ETP trading volumes dropped to $17 billion, the lowest since July 2025 and a steep decline from the record activity observed over prior weeks. Total assets under management across crypto ETFs have slipped to roughly $133 billion, the weakest level since April 2025.

Not everything is bleeding red, though. XRP picked up $3.5 million in inflows, Solana grabbed $3.3 million, and Chainlink added $1.2 million. Small numbers, sure, but they hint at rotation rather than a full exodus.

What's Pushing Investors Out?

Start with the obvious: price. Bitcoin, hovering around $66,000, has taken the wind out of many sails. When the price drops, casual conviction drops with it. Trading volumes confirm the apathy, and the derivatives market tells a similar story. Open interest has collapsed by 55% from its all-time high, suggesting serious deleveraging across the board.

Then there's the macro picture. U.S. tariff uncertainty continues to rattle markets. The Federal Reserve hasn't given anyone the rate cut clarity they're looking for. Expectations for a March cut have faded. When traditional risk assets wobble, crypto ETFs tend to feel it fast.

Here's a detail that doesn't get enough attention: hedge funds that entered Bitcoin ETFs weren't all making long-term bets on the asset. Many were running arbitrage strategies, capturing risk-free returns through basis plays. As those opportunities dry up, those positions unwind. That money leaving isn't a vote against Bitcoin's future. It's a trade closing out.

Short-Bitcoin products, which profit when BTC falls, saw $5.5 million in inflows, the largest of any asset this week. That tells you some players are actively betting on further downside. But the broader pattern suggests the exits are coming from speculators and tactical traders, not from the long-term holders who parked money in these funds to sit for years.

Is This a U.S. Problem?

Largely, yes. American investors accounted for $347 million in outflows last week alone. Meanwhile, Europe and Canada went the other direction. Switzerland led with $19.5 million in inflows, followed by Canada at $16.8 million and Germany at $16.2 million, a combined haul of $59 million.

The regional split reinforces the idea that macro conditions specific to the U.S., particularly tariff policy and Fed uncertainty, are driving much of the selling pressure. Non-U.S. investors appear to be treating the dip as a buying opportunity.

When Could the Bleeding Stop?

If the selling is largely a U.S. macro story, then the catalysts for reversal are mostly U.S. macro catalysts too.

Macro clarity is the big one. Once the tariff situation settles and the Fed signals a clearer path on rates, risk appetite should recover. Crypto ETF flows have historically tracked closely with Nasdaq sentiment, so a broader market bounce could pull money back in.

Price stabilization matters too. If Bitcoin holds above $65,000 and starts building a floor, the psychological pressure that's pushing outflows eases. CoinShares head of research James Butterfill noted that the pace of outflows has historically been more informative than the direction, and the recent deceleration from $1.7 billion weekly exits down to $288 million could signal an inflection point.

The altcoin inflows into XRP, Solana, and Chainlink, while modest compared to Bitcoin's outflows, suggest selective accumulation is already happening. If sentiment shifts from extreme fear toward neutral, the outflow streak could break in the coming weeks.

Historical patterns offer some comfort as well. The current five-week cumulative of $4 billion remains well below the $6 billion recorded over the same period last year, suggesting a more measured adjustment rather than panic selling.

The Bottom Line

Year-over-year, Bitcoin ETFs still show strong cumulative net inflows. Bitcoin ETF AUM sits at $83.6 billion, representing about 6.3% of Bitcoin's total market cap. The money leaving right now is largely tactical, not structural.

This looks like a correction, not a collapse. The institutional infrastructure, growing global adoption by European and Canadian investors, and continued technical development remain intact. The question isn't really whether the outflows end. It's what catalyst flips the switch. Keep the survival kit in storage.

Sources:

• CoinShares Weekly Fund Flows Report, Volume 274 (Feb 23, 2026) — Primary data source for fifth consecutive week of outflows ($288M), cumulative five-week total ($4.0B), asset-specific breakdowns, regional flow data, and ETP trading volume figures
• CoinDesk (Feb 23, 2026) — Reporting on the five-week outflow streak with BlackRock IBIT leading at $2.13B in redemptions
• CoinDesk (Feb 19, 2026) — Daily ETF flow data including BlackRock IBIT ($84.2M) and Fidelity FBTC ($49M) single-day outflows, AUM figures, and Solana inflow trend
• Phemex (Feb 18, 2026) — Bitcoin open interest 55% decline from all-time high
• The Block (Feb 17, 2026) — Prior week CoinShares data and James Butterfill commentary on pace of outflows as sentiment indicator