U.S. Bitcoin Funds See $635.6 Million in Outflows, Led by BlackRock and Fidelity
Key Facts
U.S. spot bitcoin funds recorded net outflows of $635.6 million in the October 22, 2026 session, according to Farside Investors data, with BlackRock and Fidelity funds leading withdrawals. The move followed a session of net inflows, marking a shift from buying to withdrawals across consecutive sessions. Inflows on October 21 totaled $524.8 million, less than the net amount withdrawn in the following session. BlackRock's IBIT led outflows, recording net withdrawals of $254.1 million in the October 22 session, according to Farside's flow table. Fidelity's FBTC followed with outflows of $217.5 million in the same session, with the funds leading withdrawals from these U.S. investment products.
Outflows extended to other funds, with ARKB recording withdrawals of $109.4 million, while BITB saw about $27.4 million withdrawn, according to Farside. GBTC also recorded outflows of $29.5 million, broadening withdrawals during the session to several products alongside the BlackRock and Fidelity funds. In the opposite direction, MSBT was the only fund to attract money, with inflows of $2.3 million, as outflows dominated fund activity. The same month had already seen a wave of withdrawals on October 14, when bitcoin funds recorded outflows of nearly $261.4 million, according to Investing.com, below the latest session's total. A larger historical precedent was documented in a Bitfinex report on February 25, 2025, when outflows from U.S. bitcoin funds exceeded $1.1 billion in a single session.
The withdrawals coincided with a decline in bitcoin in evening trading, with Investing.com reporting that the cryptocurrency fell 4% during trading on October 22. Its price stood at $81,448.0 at 21:39 GMT, in an intraday reading that evening. For BlackRock's fund, the iShares product page showed that IBIT's net asset value per share fell 3.64% in the same session. The daily decline in net asset value per share was $1.74, according to figures the company published for the fund's performance on October 22. The fund's net assets remained at $66,200,861,286 on that date, according to BlackRock, as the product recorded the largest outflow among the funds during the session.
Against the backdrop of these flows, Fidelity's FBTC follows a passive investment strategy, with its holdings entirely in bitcoin, according to the company's description of the product and its assets. Fidelity says "the fund holds 100% bitcoin," linking its investment exposure directly to the digital asset underlying the exchange-traded product. Purchases and sales of units in spot bitcoin products are subject to traditional market hours, according to a warning the company includes in information about these products. Fidelity explains that "spot bitcoin exchange-traded products can only be bought or sold during traditional market hours," a restriction on when transactions in the units can be executed. Under this restriction, investors seeking to enter or exit outside those hours must wait for the market to open to execute their transactions, according to the company's explanation.
On the creation and redemption of units, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission allowed authorized participants to carry out these transactions in kind for crypto asset exchange-traded products. The permission came through orders approved by the agency, according to its statement issued in July of the previous year, concerning the creation and redemption of units in those products. SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda explained that the cash redemption model requires authorized participants to redeem exchange-traded product units for U.S. dollars. Uyeda said this model "requires the product issuer to buy or sell the crypto asset in the open market," explaining how issuers handle cash redemptions. The next Federal Open Market Committee meeting is scheduled for October 27 and 28, according to the Federal Reserve's official calendar, following the latest session of bitcoin fund outflows.