A staggering $937.9 million fled Bitcoin ETFs on February 25, 2025, marking the worst single-day exodus since their January 2024 launch. This wasn’t just a bad day. It was the sixth consecutive day of outflows, pushing the total beyond $2 billion in less than a week. The previous record? A mere $671 million back in December. Child’s play compared to this bloodbath.
Fidelity’s FBTC took the biggest hit with $344.7 million heading for the exits. BlackRock’s IBIT wasn’t far behind, shedding $164.4 million. Even the smaller players felt the pain – Bitwise, Grayscale, and Franklin Templeton all watched millions vanish from their funds. Nobody was safe. The Fear and Greed Index reached extreme fear levels, further amplifying the selling pressure.
Bitcoin’s price tanked accordingly, dropping below $90,000. The volatile day saw prices swing from over $92,000 to a low of $86,140 – a nasty 3.4% decline in just 24 hours. Crypto bros weren’t exactly popping champagne.
What triggered this mass evacuation? Experts point to several culprits. The breakdown of a popular arbitrage strategy had hedge funds scrambling to unwind positions. Growing US-China tensions didn’t help. Some investors simply decided gold looked better than digital gold right now. Go figure.
Ethereum ETFs caught the contagion too, though their $78.09 million outflow seems almost quaint by comparison. BlackRock’s ETHA lost $48.21 million while Grayscale’s ETHE said goodbye to $15.45 million. The previous day’s Ethereum ETF outflow was only $8.92 million, highlighting the dramatic escalation in selling pressure.
The expert chorus is singing different tunes. Arthur Hayes sees Bitcoin potentially crashing to $70,000. Markus Thielen believes most ETF investors were just chasing arbitrage yields anyway. Nate Geraci notes traditional finance still views crypto with suspicion. Shocking.
Despite the short-term carnage, long-term bulls aren’t wavering. Institutional interest remains strong, they insist. The market will bounce back. Maybe. For now, everyone’s watching these ETF flows like hawks, wondering if this is just normal volatility or something more concerning. The ECB’s critical statements about Bitcoin’s legitimacy added further pressure to an already nervous market. Only time will tell.
