Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin ETFs lost $299.90M Wednesday, extending their 5-session outflow total to $1.44B.
- Ether shed $144.81M, with 5-day withdrawals equal to about 4.5% of ETF assets.
- In-kind conversions show some holders are changing custody structures rather than exiting crypto.
Bitcoin Selling Remains Concentrated in IBIT
The institutional retreat from crypto deepened Wednesday, even as a growing shift toward in-kind exchange-traded fund (ETF) transactions complicated the usual reading of fund demand.
Bitcoin and ether ETFs recorded $444.71 million in combined outflows. Including Zcash, SOL, HYPE and NEAR, withdrawals across the market approached $469 million for the session. The breadth was striking, with no major category finishing in positive territory.
Bitcoin ETFs posted a fifth consecutive day of outflows, with Blackrock’s IBIT accounting for $269.73 million of the $299.90 million total. Grayscale’s GBTC lost another $39.13 million. Morgan Stanley’s MSBT provided the only offset, attracting $8.96 million.
Trading value reached $2.27 billion, while net assets closed at $93.70 billion. The five-day withdrawal of $1.44 billion represents roughly 1.5% of the category’s current asset base.
The concentration in IBIT matters. Blackrock’s fund has often supplied the strongest buying during bitcoin ETF recoveries, making sustained redemptions there a potential headwind for bitcoin’s price.
The inflow into MSBT offers a smaller counterpoint. Wealth-management allocations may be proving more durable than tactical positions held through the largest institutional vehicles.
Ether Faces Heavier Pressure Relative to Its Size
Ether ETFs lost $144.81 million, taking their five-session outflow total to $523.4 million.
Blackrock’s ETHA led with a $129.78 million withdrawal. ETHB lost $5.35 million, Bitwise’s ETHW shed $4.76 million, and Fidelity’s FETH recorded a $4.14 million exit. Franklin’s EZET lost another $787,150.
Trading activity reached $458.65 million, while net assets fell to $11.65 billion.
Relative to assets under management, ether’s five-day withdrawals equal roughly 4.5% of the category. That is close to three times the redemption pressure seen in bitcoin ETFs.
Selling also reached the smaller crypto products. Zcash ETFs lost $14.61 million, solana funds shed $5.85 million, HYPE ETFs recorded a $1.69 million exit, and NEAR lost $1.36 million.
In-Kind Conversions Blur the Demand Picture
Cash-flow data tell only part of the ETF story.
Blackrock digital-assets head Robbie Mitchnick said large bitcoin holders are increasingly converting self-custodied coins into IBIT shares, with roughly $3.6 billion transferred through in-kind transactions.
These conversions can shift bitcoin into an ETF without requiring investors to sell their holdings first. They reflect changing custody preferences and may not create fresh open-market demand for bitcoin.
Bitwise Investment Management President Teddy Fusaro highlighted another motivation: “Tax efficiency is one of the most important and common topics that we discuss with clients.”
Investors may also value institutional custody, estate planning, and access to liquid options markets. That means some long-term holders are moving deeper into the ETF structure even as daily cash flows remain negative.
Wednesday’s data still point to forceful de-risking, especially in ether. Yet the rise of in-kind conversions suggests part of the market is reorganizing how it holds crypto rather than abandoning the asset class entirely.
