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Bitcoin ETFs bleed $3.8 billion in historic five-week outflow streak
Outflows underscore persistent institutional wariness toward bitcoin after the early October crash.
By Omkar Godbole
Feb 23, 2026, 4:42 a.m.
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Bitcoin ETFs lose billions in five weeks. (zsoravecz/Pixabay)
What to know:
- Investors have withdrawn nearly $3.8 billion from U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds over the past five weeks, marking the longest outflow streak since February 2025.
- BlackRock's IBIT has led the retreat with about $2.13 billion in redemptions over the same period.
- Outflows underscore persistent institutional wariness toward bitcoin after the early October crash.
Investors just pulled nearly $3.8 billion from U.S.-listed spot bitcoin BTC$64,740.15 exchange-traded funds over five straight weeks, the longest outflow streak since February 2025.
Last week alone saw $316 million vanish, according to SoSoValue.
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Leading the outflows trend is BlackRock's IBIT. The fund has lost $2.13 billion over five straight weeks of outflows.
This shows institutions are still steering clear of the leading cryptocurrency, extending the aversion that kicked in after the early October crash, which exposed its vulnerability to shenanigans on offshore exchanges such as Binance.
While the latest outflows trend matches the one from February last year in length, it's not as bad, with just $3.8 billion yanked versus $5 billion back then. That prior streak paved the way for a market swoon over the following weeks, with bitcoin falling as low as $75,000 in early April.
Right now, bitcoin is already trading well below that level, changing hands just under $65,000 as of writing.
Analysts have attributed the ongoing risk aversion to lingering U.S.-Iran tensions, President Donald Trump's fresh global tariff announcement, and technical price-chart factors."
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On-chain data from Glassnode and CryptoQuant shows large holders dominating exchange inflows while short-term investors continue to sell at a loss, pointing to a fragile base-building phase.
What to know:
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- Losses realized by recent bitcoin buyers have eased from roughly $1.24 billion to $480 million per day, signaling that panic selling is cooling but that a bottom-building phase may still be underway.
- Exchange data shows large holders now dominate selling, altcoin deposits and volatility are rising, and stablecoin inflows have shrunk, all pointing to weaker buying power as bitcoin tests support around $65,000.
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