US spot Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) experienced $530 million in combined withdrawals on Thursday, as a sharp Wall Street decline erased the gains they had made following the midterm elections.
Data from Farside Investors showed that Bitcoin ETFs lost $430.23 million on Nov. 5, while Ethereum ETFs recorded $99.98 million in outflows.
BlackRock ETFs lead outflow streak
The latest ETF withdrawals extended a broader retreat that had begun before Thursday's market turbulence.
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) recorded $105 million in outflows, marking its fifth consecutive trading session of withdrawals. Over that period, investors pulled approximately $1.04 billion from the fund, including $405.3 million on Nov. 2 alone.
Across all US spot Bitcoin ETFs, cumulative net withdrawals reached approximately $1.51 billion over the five sessions since Oct. 30, despite Wednesday's brief return to positive flows.
Fidelity's FBTC suffered the biggest withdrawals on Thursday, losing $199.87 million just one day after attracting $236.7 million and leading the industry's short-lived recovery.
Grayscale's GBTC recorded another $49.9 million in outflows, while Franklin Templeton's EZBC and VanEck's HODL lost $32.92 million and $23.64 million, respectively. None of the 12 Bitcoin funds recorded positive net flows during Thursday's session.
The withdrawals left Bitcoin ETFs with $869.8 million in net outflows for November, extending the pressure that had already driven substantial redemptions in late October.
Ethereum ETFs face similar selling pressure
Ethereum ETFs faced similar selling pressure, with BlackRock accounting for nearly all Thursday's withdrawals.
Its flagship ETHA fund lost $75.2 million, while its staked Ethereum ETF, ETHB, recorded another $22 million in outflows. Fidelity's FETH shed $2.24 million.
The latest withdrawals pushed Ethereum ETFs' November net outflows to approximately $272 million, despite Wednesday's $53 million inflow.
Bitcoin ETF withdrawals follow stock market rout
Meanwhile, these withdrawals abruptly reversed Wednesday's recovery, when the two categories attracted a combined $127.6 million as investors welcomed the resolution of uncertainty surrounding the US midterm elections.
Bitcoin subsequently fell 6.03% over 24 hours to $75,581.52, surrendering its rebound above $80,000 following the Democratic Party's sweeping congressional victory. Ethereum also retreated sharply, falling to $2,237 as of press time after trading above $2,400 during the recovery.
The reversal coincided with a Wall Street rout that President Donald Trump described as one of the stock market's “worst days in history.”
According to The Kobeissi Letter, the Nasdaq 100 suffered its steepest daily decline since the 2020 pandemic, while the S&P 500 shed $3 trillion in market value amid concerns that Democratic control of Congress could lead to restrictions on artificial intelligence infrastructure development.
The simultaneous declines across equities and cryptocurrencies showed how quickly the post-election relief rally had given way to renewed risk aversion in the market.
