BTC drops below $80,000 following $1.6 billion in monthly ETF outflows, third-worst month on record

U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds ended January on a sour note, with approximately $1.49 billion exiting the funds during the final week of the month, according to data from SoSoValue.

The selling pressure intensified sharply in the week’s final two sessions. Wednesday saw $818 million in net outflows, the largest single-day redemption of 2026, followed by another $510 million leaving the funds on Thursday. The four-day stretch from Tuesday through Friday recorded outflows every session, with a marginal $7 million inflow on Monday.

The week’s outflows pushed January’s total net redemptions to approximately $1.6 billion, making it the third-largest monthly ETF sell-off in history for bitcoin products, per the data. The figure marks a stark reversal from the optimism that greeted the new year, when bitcoin ETFs pulled in over $1.16 billion in the first two trading days of 2026, with Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas noting at the time that the products were “coming into 2026 like a lion.”

The outflows come as Bitocin’s price fell below $80,000 on Saturday for the first time since April of last year. BTC is currently trading around $77,800, according to The Block’s Bitcoin Price page. The decline in price led BTC to briefly trade below Microstrategy’s cost basis of $76,037 per Bitcoin for the first time since Oct. 2023. 

ETH, SOL, and XRP show divergent flows

Spot ether ETFs mirrored bitcoin’s weakness, recording approximately $353 million in net outflows for January. The final week proved particularly brutal, with Thursday’s session alone seeing $253 million exit the funds, led by outflows from BlackRock’s industry-leading ETHA and Fidelity’s FETH.

Ether also dipped on Saturday, briefly dropping below $2,300. Its price is currently down more than 13% over the past 24 hours, trading at about $2,376, per The Block’s Ethereum Price page. 

In contrast, newer altcoin ETF products showed resilience. Spot Solana ETFs recorded approximately $105 million in net inflows for January, continuing the momentum that has made Bitwise’s BSOL fund the industry leader in SOL ETF assets under management.

XRP ETFs posted modest net inflows of roughly $16 million for the month, though the final week saw a notable $93 million outflow on Wednesday that temporarily disrupted their positive streak. The five XRP funds had previously traded for 36 consecutive days without net outflows following their November launch.

Macro factors weigh on sentiment

The synchronized selling across bitcoin and ether ETFs suggests institutional investors were reducing overall crypto exposure rather than rotating between assets, a shift from earlier in January when ether inflows often offset bitcoin weakness.

The selloff accelerated after former Federal Reserve Governor Kevin Warsh was selected as the next Fed chair, a choice markets have interpreted as bearish for risk assets. Geopolitical flashpoints, including reports of an explosion at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port and a brief U.S. government shutdown, added to the risk-off tone.

The ETF landscape continues to expand even amid the outflows. Morgan Stanley filed registration statements with the SEC earlier this month to launch spot Bitcoin and Solana ETFs, signaling that institutional interest in regulated crypto exposure persists despite short-term volatility.

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