short
- Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded net outflows of $290 million last week, and Friday’s exodus of $225.5 million represented the largest single-day hemorrhage.
- BlackRock’s IBIT business lost $201.5 million on Friday alone, the largest outflow for an individual fund of the week.
- Flows turned negative as geopolitical tensions escalated and ceasefire expectations weakened.
More than $290 million exited Bitcoin ETFs last week as a broad “risk off” shift continues to grip global markets amid mounting geopolitical and macro pressures.
Persian investors Data Shows cumulative weekly outflows of nearly $296 million from March 24-27, driven by large redemptions from… BlackRock’s IBIT And other major funds.
The sharpest single-day move came mainly from IBIT on Friday, with $225.5 million in total outflows for U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, capping a volatile week that started with strong inflows of $167.2 million on Monday before sentiment reversed.
“Risk off is clearly the prevailing mood in the markets,” said Josh Gilbert, market analyst at eToro. Decryptionpointing to Bitcoin The S&P 500 fell to a three-week low and the fifth straight weekly loss for the S&P 500 — its longest losing streak since 2022.
“The major forces working against it are getting worse,” he said. “Triple-digit oil is fueling inflation fears, pushing interest rate cut expectations even further, which in turn removes the incentive risk assets need to find a floor.”
Geopolitical risks escalated Monday after President Donald Trump told… Financial Times He could “seize the oil in Iran” and perhaps seize Kharg Island, the country’s main fuel hub.
Gilbert said a ceasefire could spark a “strong relief rally,” but warned that without a credible de-escalation, markets would remain defensive with “more volatile sessions ahead.”
said Peter Chung, head of research at Presto Labs Decryption A “risk off” tone was the primary driver, although he noted that last week’s outflows “don’t look very exciting compared to recent trends.”
He added: “I think what led to this was a general trend of risk aversion with diminishing expectations for a ceasefire as peace talks faltered towards the end of the week.”
Pratik Kala, head of research at Apollo Crypto, echoed this reading, attributing the outflows to “risk-off sentiment and end-of-quarter rebalancing,” while saying: Decryption The $290 million figure is “absolutely normal.”
He added how Bitcoin’s relative strength versus other asset classes remains “remarkable and very supportive” – and cautioned against reading structural importance into the weekly flow data.
“ETF inflows and outflows aren’t just directional money — there’s a lot of fundamental trading done by hedge funds,” Kalla said. “Therefore, there are no strict limits or thresholds that would indicate structural change.”
Gilbert said Bitcoin had held up relatively well during the conflict and was “surprisingly prominent despite its risky status as an asset,” but warned that the ongoing tensions showed it was “by no means immune to these random sell-offs.”
He noted that the market is increasingly pricing in rate hikes from the Fed, “a far cry from the multiple cuts the market was pricing in just months ago,” and pointed to Fed Chairman Jerome Powell’s scheduled comments as a potential additional pressure point.
On Myriad, the prediction market owned by Dastan, Decrypt’s parent company, sentiment tends to be low, with users pricing in a 56.8% probability Bitcoin falls to $55,000 Instead of going up to $84,000.
Bitcoin is trading at $67,574, up 1.4% in the past 24 hours, after falling to the $65,000 range earlier Monday, according to CoinGecko. Data.
Daily debriefing Newsletter
Start each day with the latest news, plus original features, podcasts, videos and more.
