Bitcoin Decouples From Stocks as ETF Outflows Hit $1.5 Billion

U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs bled another $201 million on Monday, pushing outflows since Nov. 2 to roughly $1.5 billion, according to Farside Investors. The drain came on a day when bitcoin broke its weeks-long correlation with U.S. equities — and not in the crypto's favor.

Bitcoin traded near $74,262 on Tuesday, down 1.4% since midnight UTC and little changed over the previous 24 hours. The move marked a sharp departure from recent behavior. Bitcoin and Nasdaq futures had moved in tandem for weeks, falling together on Oct. 30 and again during last week's AI-led selloff. On Monday, the S&P 500 posted its best day since April 8 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 2.7%. Bitcoin went nowhere.

Why is bitcoin lagging a risk-on rally?

The flow data offers the clearest explanation. U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs have now lost around $1.1 billion on a year-to-date basis, a striking reversal from more than $20 billion of net inflows in each of the past two years. BlackRock's IBIT, the largest fund in the category, has posted seven consecutive sessions of redemptions.

Supply pressure is building on another front. Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings (MARA) disclosed it sold 13,597 BTC for approximately $1.1 billion over the past six weeks and said it plans to keep selling. For a market already absorbing ETF redemptions, a major miner telegraphing continued disposals adds a measurable overhang.

Retail engagement looks equally thin. Santiment data shows bitcoin has shed roughly 108,700 non-empty wallets since Oct. 16, a proxy for fading user activity rather than pure speculation.

What's next on the calendar?

U.S. inflation data due at 8:30 a.m. ET is the next test. Economists polled by Dow Jones forecast headline CPI rose 0.3% in October and core CPI 0.2% — both slower than September's readings of 0.6% and 0.3%. Softer prints could offer risk assets a tailwind, but analysts at BRN caution that bitcoin needs "real buying, not a lucky break." A benign CPI number alone, in their view, won't reverse a structurally weak demand picture.

Where is the institutional buildout continuing?

While spot flows sag, Wall Street keeps laying crypto rails. The New York Stock Exchange picked Avalanche to settle trades on a planned 24/7 tokenized securities platform, sending the AVAX token up around 5% over the past 24 hours. The decision ties one of the world's largest equities venues to a public blockchain for settlement infrastructure — an operational milestone that sits apart from the spot ETF cycle, and a signal that market-structure work continues regardless of short-term price flows.

The immediate question for traders is whether October's CPI, due within hours, stalls the ETF outflow streak or extends it into a third week.