Bitcoin Price Drops as $263M Leaves US Spot ETFs

Fidelity’s FBTC led withdrawals with $150 million, followed by Grayscale’s GBTC and ARKB. Market sentiment also weakened, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index moving back into Fear after briefly reaching Neutral. Despite the short-term pullback, institutional demand in April remained strong.

Bitcoin ETF Momentum Fades

Bitcoin came under pressure over the past 24 hours after slipping below the $77,000 level. Price action suggests BTC traded near the upper $77,000 range before briefly pushing above $78,000, only to face sharp selling that sent it down toward the mid-$76,000 area. 

Although buyers tried several recoveries throughout the session, each bounce was limited, which left Bitcoin trading in a choppy range. 

BTC’s price action over the past 24 hours (Source: CoinCodex)

That softer price action coincided with a shift in investor flows into US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds. After nine consecutive sessions of net inflows, these ETFs recorded $263 million in net outflows on Monday. This was their first meaningful pause in institutional buying momentum since mid-April. 

The reversal happened after a positive stretch where approximately $2.1 billion entered spot Bitcoin funds from April 13 onward. This helped support a roughly 10% rise in BTC over the same period.

The largest share of Monday’s withdrawals came from Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, which saw around $150 million leave the product. Grayscale’s GBTC followed with approximately $47 million in outflows, while ARK 21Shares’ ARKB posted roughly $43 million in redemptions. Meanwhile, BlackRock’s IBIT and Morgan Stanley’s Bitcoin fund reported flat flows.

BTC ETF flows (Source: Farside Investors)

Sentiment indicators also reflected the market’s uncertainty. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index recently improved into Neutral territory for the first time in three months. However, after BTC failed to break higher and instead retreated, the index slipped back into Fear. This change suggests investors are still a bit cautious and unconvinced that a sustained breakout is underway.

Crypto fear and greed index (Source: Alternative.me)

Despite the short-term weakness, the overall supply-demand picture still seems mostly constructive. Institutional demand in April outpaced newly mined Bitcoin supply. Strategy alone reportedly bought more than 56,000 BTC during the month, while global ETFs added more than 34,000 BTC for clients. 

By comparison, only around 11,800 BTC were estimated to have been mined during the same timeframe. That imbalance implies long-term accumulation remains a major theme.