U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs suffer $630M outflow on May 13

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $630.4 million in net outflows on May 13, the largest single-day withdrawal in more than three months. BlackRock’s IBIT accounted for $284.7 million of the losses, ARK Invest’s ARKB shed $177.1 million and Fidelity’s FBTC lost $133.2 million.

Data compiled by Farside Investors show Bitwise’s BITB posted $35.4 million in outflows, and the four funds together accounted for the day’s total redemptions. The outflow ended a five-week inflow streak that had brought roughly $3.8 billion in cumulative net inflows through the week ending May 6.

The May 13 result was the largest one-day outflow since Jan. 29, when funds saw $817.8 million in net withdrawals. Funds also recorded earlier outflows in May: $268.5 million on May 7 and $233.2 million on May 12.

Analysts linked the redemptions to higher-than-expected U.S. inflation data released in April. The consumer price index rose 3.8% year over year and the producer price index increased 6.0% year over year.

Illia Otychenko, lead analyst at CEX.IO, noted that the inflation prints altered market expectations for Federal Reserve policy and increased risk aversion among some investors. He pointed to rising deleveraging of long positions and an elevated put/call ratio in derivatives as signs of increased bearish positioning.

Bitcoin’s spot price moved lower during the period, trading around $79,540 and down about 1.6% over the prior 24 hours after briefly touching the low $82,000s the previous weekend.

Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Labs, cautioned against reading a single day’s flows as a structural change. He described the outflows as consolidation and profit-taking by some institutional holders following recent price gains.

Otychenko also highlighted potential drivers that could affect flows in coming weeks, including oil price moves and developments around the Strait of Hormuz, which he said could add inflationary pressure and market volatility.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have attracted substantial institutional attention since their approvals. Market participants and analysts say short-term fund flows can be volatile and are often driven by macroeconomic data and positioning rather than long-term allocation decisions.