Citigroup Warns of Bitcoin Halving-Season Chill as Prices Sink, ETF Outflows Grow

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Citigroup Warns of Bitcoin Halving-Season Chill as Prices Sink, ETF Outflows Grow Crypto is stuck in a second-year post-halving slump, with ETF outflows and jittery long-term holders pushing bitcoin toward the bank’s bear-case outlook. By Will Canny , AI Boost | Edited by Stephen Alpher Nov 24, 2025, 1:52 p.m. Bitcoin sinks as ETF outflows mount, Wall Street bank Citi warns of halving-season chill. (Pixabay, modified by CoinDesk) What to know : Citi said bitcoin exchange-traded fund outflows have reached nearly $4 billion since Oct. 10. Long-term holders are growing cautious as the historically weak second year of the halving cycle sets in. Without renewed ETF inflows, the bank sees bitcoin drifting toward its $82K year-end bear case. Wall Street bank Citigroup said crypto’s October futures wipeout shattered sentiment, sparking nearly $4 billion in bitcoin BTC $ 86,378.64 exchange-traded fund outflows and erasing year-to-date gains. With fresh flows drying up, bitcoin has slipped back toward the average cost basis of ETF holders and is trading more like Citi’s bear case than its base scenario. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . The bank said long-term holders are increasingly uneasy as the market enters the historically weak second year of the halving cycle, with on-chain data showing older supply moving and large wallets trimming positions. Risk appetite has evaporated across majors since the early-Oct. flash crash tied to broader macro stress, leaving bitcoin underperforming its usual drivers and lacking near-term catalysts unless equities rebound or Washington’s digital-asset legislation advances, analyst Alex Saunders wrote in the Friday report. Interest hasn’t disappeared, Saunders said, but long-term holders are defensive and newcomers see little reason to step in while bitcoin trades below key technical levels. Saunders expected $7.5 billion in ETF inflows by year-end, but negative flows now place bitcoin near the bank’s $82,000 bear-case view. The firm sees $80,000 as a pivotal level for ETF holders and says a regulatory breakthrough next year could restore demand, keeping its 12-month targets unchanged at $25 billion in flows and a bitcoin price of $181,000. Bitcoin was trading around $86,500 at publication time. Read more: Bitcoin Weakness Sends a Warning to Stocks, but Liquidity May Soon Turn, Citi Says Bitcoin News ETFs Citi AI Disclaimer: Parts of this article were generated with the assistance from AI tools and reviewed by our editorial team to ensure accuracy and adherence to our standards . For more information, see CoinDesk's full AI Policy . More For You Protocol Research: GoPlus Security By CoinDesk Research Nov 14, 2025 Commissioned by GoPlus What to know : As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M. GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month. Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B. View Full Report More For You Investors Should Buy the Dip in Coinbase and Circle, Says William Blair By Will Canny , AI Boost | Edited by Stephen Alpher 24 minutes ago The latest crypto slide has created an attractive entry point for the two companies' stocks, with core USDC and bitcoin theses still intact. What to know : William Blair said the selloff in Coinbase and Circle is a buying opportunity despite market turbulence. The bank argued that bitcoin’s weakness reflects early-stage market structure, not a breakdown of its long-term value case. Growing USDC stability and recurring revenue give Coinbase increasing insulation from crypto drawdowns, according to the report. 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