Bitcoin Falls Below $80K After $630M ETF Outflows

Bitcoin hit an intraday low of $78,795 and traded near $79,680 after U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $630.4 million in net outflows on May 13, the largest daily redemption in over three months.

BlackRock’s IBIT saw $284.7 million in redemptions, ARK Invest’s ARKB lost $177.1 million, Fidelity’s FBTC recorded $133.2 million in outflows and Bitwise’s BITB had $35.4 million leave.

Strategy’s preferred share, STRC, pays dividends on the last day of each month and sets ownership by the ex-dividend date on the 15th. Buying ahead of that date pushes STRC toward its $100 par value, which allows Strategy to issue new shares and use the proceeds to buy Bitcoin.

STRC-related purchases rose from 4,467 BTC in January to 22,131 BTC in March and about 46,872 BTC in April, according to a research note. Vetle Lund, head of research at Strategy, expects today’s ex-dividend date to indicate whether the pattern continues for a fourth month.

Andri Fauzan Adziima, research lead at Bitrue Research Institute, expects the current dip to be brief, citing on-chain flows that show large wallets accumulating. He added that STRC recovered to par more slowly in May and that only about 1 BTC has been converted into purchases through the preferred instrument in the current cycle.

On the prediction market Myriad, users assigned an 85% probability that Bitcoin’s next major move will reach $84,000 rather than fall to $55,000.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have attracted more than $4 billion since March, and stablecoin balances have increased by over $7 billion since February, market data show.

A CLARITY Act markup hearing is scheduled in Washington on Thursday. Market participants will watch whether ETF flows stabilize, whether STRC triggers another round of share issuance and Bitcoin purchases after today’s ex-dividend cutoff, and upcoming macroeconomic data.