Bitcoin ETFs Shed $643 Million in Largest Outflow Since June

U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $643.3 million in net outflows on Friday, the largest single-day exodus since June 25, according to data from SoSoValue. The withdrawal came in the first trading session after the $6.3 billion hack on Binance late Thursday and erased 63.6% of the funds' year-to-date net inflow, which stood at just over $1 billion before the bell.

The outflow ranked as the 12th largest since the funds began trading in January 2024. The last bigger single-day exit came on June 25, when investors pulled $696.3 million. Friday's figure narrowly exceeded the $635.5 million outflow recorded on October 22.

BlackRock's IBIT led the withdrawals, losing $233.70 million, followed by Fidelity's FBTC with $201.4 million in losses. The two funds typically anchor institutional flows into the category, and their simultaneous weakness signals a broad pullback rather than idiosyncratic rotation between issuers.

How weak was demand beyond the ETFs?

Bitfire Research, in an email to CoinDesk, tied the ETF exodus to broader signs of fading momentum across U.S. market channels. "U.S. spot BTC ETFs recorded a massive single-day net outflow of $643 million on Friday, October 30, pulling total AUM below the $100 billion mark to $98.14 billion, while spot ETH ETFs also posted sustained weekly net outflows," the firm said. "Coupled with the Coinbase Premium remaining in negative territory (-0.18% to -0.27%) and the Crypto Fear & Greed Index softening into the 30–34 range, institutional and spot buying momentum visibly faded."

The Coinbase premium, a widely tracked gauge of buying pressure from U.S.-based investors, stayed negative through the session, corroborating the ETF numbers. Total assets under management in the spot bitcoin funds now sit at $98.14 billion, below the $100 billion threshold they had held before Friday.

What role did the Binance hack play?

Derive, a decentralized exchange for options trading, directly linked the outflows to the security breach at Binance. "The market was already under pressure, but the Binance hack added another layer of uncertainty. $643M exits Bitcoin ETFs as traders rush to protect against further losses. The reaction from traditional investors has been significant," Nick Forster, founder and CEO of Derive, told CoinDesk.

Forster noted that the timing matched precisely: the outflow landed in the funds' first trading session after the $6.3 billion exploit. Derive is the largest decentralized exchange for options, a derivatives segment currently expanding within crypto markets.

What happens next?

Bitfire flagged three near-term events that could reshape flows. First, the November 3 U.S. midterm election, which will influence the regulatory outlook for President Donald Trump's final two years in office. Second, the November 6 nonfarm payrolls report covering October labor market conditions, a release that feeds directly into Federal Reserve rate expectations and, through them, into risk assets including cryptocurrencies.

Third, MSCI will publish its final list of companies affected by new rules covering non-operating companies. The index provider has flagged Strategy and Metaplanet, two of the largest corporate bitcoin holders, as potential candidates for exclusion. Removal from MSCI indices would expose both stocks to passive fund selling pressure and could constrain their capacity to accumulate more bitcoin, cutting an indirect supply channel that has supported the asset's institutional adoption. That decision, alongside the midterm result and the jobs print, lands within the first week of November.