U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs see fresh outflows led by major funds

Flow data showed the selling was concentrated in the biggest products. On Feb. 4, 2026, net outflows reached about $544.9 million, led by BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) at roughly $373.4 million and Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) at about $86.4 million, according to Farside Investors’ daily table.

The pullback followed a volatile stretch in which ETF flows swung sharply day to day. After heavy redemptions late in January – including a net outflow of about $817.8 million on Jan. 29, with large withdrawals across multiple issuers – flows turned positive again on Feb. 2, when spot Bitcoin ETFs collectively posted roughly $561.8 million in inflows. Those inflows were broad-based across several funds, suggesting buyers stepped back in when prices stabilized, before reversing again into outflows on Feb. 3 (about $272.0 million) and Feb. 4 (about $544.9 million).

In the Feb. 4 tape, outflows also hit Ark 21Shares’ ARKB (about $31.7 million) and Grayscale’s GBTC (about $41.8 million), while several smaller products posted modest redemptions or near-zero moves. Because these funds hold physical bitcoin, net redemptions typically translate into authorized participants delivering ETF shares back to the issuer and receiving bitcoin (or cash, depending on the mechanism) – a process that can add short-term selling pressure if redeemed bitcoin is immediately hedged or sold in the market.

The two-day outflow print is notable because it arrived after a brief “reset” rally in flows at the start of February. That pattern – inflow burst, then renewed outflows – often shows up when macro risk appetite is unstable and traders use ETFs tactically, rotating between exposure and cash rather than holding through drawdowns. In practice, the flow swings can also reflect basis trades: when futures premiums compress, the economics of holding ETF exposure versus futures hedges can change quickly, prompting fast repositioning.

Even with the latest outflows, cumulative totals for the spot Bitcoin ETF complex remain deeply positive since launch, according to the running totals in the same dataset. What changes in weeks like this is the marginal buyer: when the largest funds see simultaneous redemptions, it can signal a broad de-risking pulse rather than a single-issuer rotation.

Earnings figures have amplified the debate. The report said Dunamu posted net profit of 239 billion won ($163 million) in the third quarter of last year, up 308% from a year earlier, while Bithumb’s net profit rose to 105.4 billion won, up 3,285% over the same period. Those numbers have helped fuel arguments that exchanges have become systemically important market utilities–without being subject to the same institutional framework as legacy finance.

The investigations also land after South Korea began building a more formal rulebook for the sector, including a “virtual asset user protection” law that took effect in 2024 and pushed exchanges toward tighter listing reviews and investor-protection controls. For now, the FTC’s focus is narrower – advertising practices, competition and transaction access – but the message is broader: in Seoul, the compliance perimeter around crypto trading venues is still expanding, and it is increasingly being enforced through multiple regulators with different toolkits.