The U.S. spot ETF market saw a sharp reversal in sentiment on October 17, as both Bitcoin and Ethereum products experienced heavy investor withdrawals, underscoring renewed caution in the crypto sector.
According to SoSoValue data, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of $367 million, marking the third consecutive day of redemptions. The biggest drag came from BlackRock’s IBIT fund, which saw $268.6 million in outflows, its steepest since September, while Fidelity’s FBTC followed with $67.4 million leaving the fund. Grayscale’s GBTC and BTC trust also posted smaller redemptions, totaling around $25 million combined. Despite the downturn, cumulative inflows for BlackRock’s ETF remain the highest in the market, standing at $64.98 billion since launch.
The retreat extended beyond Bitcoin, hitting Ethereum ETFs even harder. All nine U.S. spot ETH funds recorded simultaneous outflows totaling $232 million, with BlackRock’s ETHA seeing the largest single-day loss of $146 million. Fidelity’s FETH and Grayscale’s ETHE followed with $30.6 million and $26.1 million in redemptions respectively.
No ETH ETF reported inflows for the day, the first time since their debut that every issuer posted negative figures.
Analysts attribute the exodus to a combination of profit-taking, macro uncertainty, and short-term risk-off sentiment ahead of key economic data and potential Fed rate cut signals. Still, total cumulative inflows across Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs remain strongly positive, suggesting long-term institutional conviction remains intact despite near-term turbulence.