$643.3 Million Exits U.S. Bitcoin Funds in Biggest Outflow Since June
Key Facts
U.S.-listed spot bitcoin funds recorded net outflows of $643.3 million on Friday, October 30, their biggest single-day withdrawal since June 25, according to CoinDesk. The session followed four consecutive days of inflows, according to Farside Investors data, before the balance turned negative. Before Friday's outflow, year-to-date net inflows stood slightly above $1 billion. The session erased 63.6% of that balance, wiping out most of the funds' accumulated gains for the year. CoinDesk described the withdrawal as the largest since June, not an all-time record.
According to CoinDesk, Friday's outflow ranked 12th among the largest daily withdrawals since the funds began trading in January 2024. The most recent larger withdrawal came on June 25, when outflows totaled $696.3 million. BlackRock's IBIT led Friday's outflows, with $233.70 million withdrawn, followed by Fidelity's FBTC, with $201.4 million. Farside data also showed $129.5 million in outflows from ARKB. Net outflows totaled $643.2 million in Farside's data, compared with CoinDesk's figure of $643.3 million.
Despite the sharp reversal in the latest session, flows were positive on the previous four days: $110.3 million on October 26, $176.0 million on October 27, $137.3 million on October 28, and $17.2 million on October 29, according to Farside. The figures show daily inflows weakening ahead of the sell-off, falling from the highs of those days to $17.2 million. In a different monthly context, EL7 reported that IBIT ended October with net inflows of $932.1 million, despite the latest wave of outflows. That reflects the difference between Friday's session and the fund's performance over the full month. CoinDesk also said total assets in spot funds fell below $100 billion to $98.14 billion, citing Bitfire Research.
Analysts linked the timing of the outflows to the turmoil following the Binance hack, though this remained an explanation attributed to them rather than a confirmed cause of the withdrawals. Binance estimated the incident's impact at about $6.3 billion and said it worked with blockchain network partners to freeze affected assets; about $3 billion had been frozen on-chain by October 29, according to the Associated Press. A Decrypt report said Tether and Circle had frozen more than $2.3 billion in stolen stablecoins by November 1. The same report said Binance pledged to cover losses with company funds and its emergency reserve. The funds' outflow came in the first trading session after the incident, according to the timing reported by The Block.
A Laevitas analyst offered a more measured view of the withdrawal's impact, telling The Block that the $643 million outflow amounted to less than 1% of spot bitcoin funds' assets and that the session was a "risk-reduction day." The analyst added that the move did not represent capitulation or a loss of institutional confidence. By contrast, a CoinDesk report said the Coinbase premium remained negative, in a range between -0.18% and -0.27% at the time of the report. After Friday's decline, bitcoin rose 1% over 24 hours to $78,491 at 11:20 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, according to The Block. The crypto Fear & Greed Index stood at 37 on Sunday, in fear territory, the report said.
Price moves were sharper on Friday, when bitcoin fell about 4% to around $76,400, while liquidations of leveraged positions exceeded $1.3 billion, according to Decrypt. Following Friday's session, Decrypt estimated net assets in spot bitcoin funds at $103.2 billion and their cumulative net inflows since launch at $57.4 billion. This asset estimate differs from the $98.14 billion figure CoinDesk cited from Bitfire Research, as the two sources provided different estimates for roughly the same period. The Laevitas analyst said the near-term outlook was for consolidation or limited outflows, rather than a rapid return to inflows, as long as the hack remained contained at its current level. A Zeus Research analyst linked a sustained recovery in flows to improved market stability, liquidity and investor confidence, according to The Block.
U.S. markets are awaiting the release of the October jobs report on November 6, 2026, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. midterm elections are also scheduled for November 3, 2026, according to the official U.S. government website. The jobs report is due a week after the outflow session, as investors monitor market developments and liquidity. The source did not identify a direct impact from either event on fund flows. Expectations for money to return to the funds remain attributed to analysts, who linked a recovery to market stability, liquidity and confidence.