Bitcoin slips under ETF cost basis for U.S. funds – Glassnode

Bitcoin fell below the $89,600 flow-weighted ETF inflow price on Tuesday, putting U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF investors in aggregate unrealized losses, based on Glassnode data.

The $89,600 level reflects the flow-weighted average price of all net inflows into U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs since their launch, a measure Glassnode uses to estimate the cohort’s average cost basis. Trading below that threshold implies the group is, on average, under water.

The drop extends a slide of more than 30% from record highs set in early October, amid risk-off positioning by traders and profit-taking among longer-term holders.

Not all recent buyers are underwater. Analysis from Glassnode’s Sean Rose indicates a large block of ETF purchases executed when Bitcoin traded between $40,000 and $70,000 remains in profit.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs are designed to provide regulated access to the token, yet the products mirror the asset’s price moves. The funds’ structure does not protect investors from volatility. More than 110 crypto-focused ETFs currently trade in the United States.

Market participants are watching how fund flows and prices evolve following Tuesday’s breach of the ETF cohort’s average entry level.

As we covered previously, corporate and ETF demand accelerated through Q3 2025. The number of public companies holding Bitcoin rose to 172, with more than 1 million BTC-about 4.9% of supply-valued near $117 billion. 

After the April 2024 halving cut issuance to around 450 BTC per day, businesses were buying approximately 1,700–1,800 BTC daily. In one October week, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $3.2 billion of inflows, while earlier pullbacks followed profit-taking by long-term holders or shifts in derivatives positioning.