Bitcoin ETF Outflows Raise Concerns as BTC Rally Loses Momentum

Bitcoin’s recent rally above the $80,000 level appears to be losing strength as major outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs raise concerns about weakening investor sentiment. After strong institutional demand helped push BTC prices higher in March and April, the market is now facing renewed pressure from both macroeconomic uncertainty and slowing capital inflows.

According to SoSoValue data, the 11 U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a massive $635 million in net outflows on Wednesday, marking the largest single-day withdrawal since Jan. 29. The decline was not an isolated event. Over the past five trading sessions, investors have pulled approximately $1.26 billion from these funds, reducing total cumulative net inflows since their January 2024 launch from $59.76 billion to $58.5 billion.

The slowdown in ETF demand has coincided with Bitcoin’s fading bullish momentum. After climbing from around $65,000 to over $80,000 in recent weeks, BTC has struggled to break above the critical 200-day simple moving average near $82,000. In the last 24 hours, Bitcoin fell more than 2%, trading around $79,400 as rising U.S. inflation fears weighed on market sentiment.

Interestingly, traditional financial markets have remained resilient despite these concerns. Both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached new highs on Wednesday, highlighting a growing divergence between Bitcoin and equities.

Market analysts say the large ETF outflows cannot be ignored, especially since strong inflows earlier this year were widely viewed as a major catalyst behind Bitcoin’s price surge. Adam Haeems, head of asset management at Tesseract Group, noted that persistent inflation, hawkish Federal Reserve expectations, or another energy price shock could put additional pressure on Bitcoin, even if ETF inflows recover.

At the same time, data suggests the relationship between Bitcoin ETF flows and BTC price movements has weakened significantly. The 90-day rolling Pearson correlation between Bitcoin’s daily returns and ETF inflow changes has dropped to 0.16 from a February peak of 0.68. This indicates that ETF activity alone may no longer be a reliable predictor of short-term Bitcoin price direction.

Still, analysts believe large-scale ETF redemptions remain an important signal for the broader crypto market, particularly as investors closely monitor inflation trends, Federal Reserve policy, and institutional demand for digital assets in 2026.