After record inflows in Q3, October saw outflows topping $300 million a day.
What does this mean for Bitcoin’s price action?
With ETF and spot demand both fading, BTC remains weak.
Bitcoin’s [BTC] Q4 is being driven by ETF flows!
After a record-setting Q3, the demand impulse that pushed BTC into six-figure territory is cooling. The daily tape now looks very different from the “straight-up” ETF bid we got used to earlier this year.
What does this new flow regime mean for price, especially heading into the final stretch of 2025?
ETF inflows flip negative
October ETF flow data showed a change in demand.
Source: SoSoValue
Early-month inflows ranged between $600 million and $1.2 billion per day, pushing total ETF net assets toward the $150 billion zone.
In mid-to-late October, the situation changed significantly. Outflows began to increase, with several days showing more than $300 million in net redemptions.
During this period, Bitcoin mirrored this decline closely. It dropped from highs of $121,000 early in the month to $106,000 by the end of the month.
The ETF market is moving the price in real time.
Retail bids absent
The bleed was not just in ETF Netflows, it was in Spot demand too!
Source: CoinGlass
The Coinbase Premium Index flipped negative in the final stretch of October, right after the early-month ETF inflow spike faded. That’s a clean confirmation of the fact that capital is not chasing breakout levels anymore.
Source: CoinGlass
It also aligned with STH Realized Price sitting right at spot; short-term holders were not underwater, but they were not bidding aggressively either.
Until flows flip green again, this is the definition of a weak demand environment in Q4.
Sellers still have control
At press time, BTC’s daily chart traded below all key EMAs (20/50/100/200), rejecting the $110K region and selling down toward $107.5K.
Source: TradingView
Volume skew was red-heavy, RSI was stuck around 41, and CMF is still negative below 0, meaning money flow is not rotating back in yet.
This lined up perfectly with the ETF flow bleed and the negative Coinbase premium. Until fresh Spot and ETF buy pressure returns, this market is priced for continued stalling.