Spot Bitcoin ETFs lose $681M in first week of 2026 as risk appetite fades

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) started 2026 with crisp outflows, shedding a combined $681 cardinal implicit the archetypal afloat trading week of the year.

According to data from SoSoValue, spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs recorded 4 consecutive days of nett outflows betwixt Tuesday and Friday, outweighing inflows earlier successful the week. The largest regular redemption occurred connected Wednesday, erstwhile products shed $486 million, followed by $398.9 cardinal connected Thursday and $249.9 cardinal connected Friday.

The reversal came aft 2026 opened with little strength. On Jan. 2, Bitcoin ETFs attracted $471.1 million, followed by different $697.2 cardinal inflow connected Jan. 5.

Spot Ether (ETH) ETFs followed a akin trajectory. On a play basis, spot Ether ETFs posted nett outflows of astir $68.6 million, ending the week with full nett assets of astir $18.7 billion.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs play flows. Source: SoSoValue

Related: Bitcoin holds $90K arsenic ETFs wobble and institutions reposition: Finance Redefined

Macro uncertainty drives risk-off shift

Vincent Liu, main concern serviceman astatine trading steadfast Kronos Research, pointed to macro uncertainty arsenic the superior operator down the pullback. He told Cointelegraph that shifting expectations astir monetary argumentation and planetary hazard were weighing connected positioning.

“With Q1 complaint cuts looking little apt and geopolitical risks rising, macro conditions person turned risk-off,” Liu said. “As traders hold for clearer affirmative signals, reduced hazard appetite is spilling into crypto.”

Liu added that investors are present intimately watching upcoming US Consumer Price Index information and Federal Reserve guidance for clues connected erstwhile easing could resume. “Until clearer signals emerge, positioning is apt to stay cautious,” helium added.

Related: Grayscale forms trusts tied to imaginable BNB and HYPE ETFs

Morgan Stanley files for Bitcoin, Solana ETFs

Despite volatile marketplace conditions, Morgan Stanley has filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission to launch 2 spot crypto ETFs, 1 tracking Bitcoin and the different Solana (SOL).

The determination came a time aft the second-largest US bank, Bank of America, began allowing advisers successful its wealthiness absorption businesses to urge vulnerability to four Bitcoin ETFs.

Magazine: How crypto laws changed successful 2025 — and however they’ll alteration successful 2026