Bitcoin etfs led significant outflows ($405 million last week), causing crypto exchange-traded products to shed nearly all of their $1.5 billion worth of inflows for 2026. this indicates a strong negative shift in investor sentiment.
Analysis is based on a report from coinshares, a reputable digital asset manager, and corroborated by real-time futures trading data regarding fed rate cut probabilities.
Fading expectations for a federal reserve rate cut in march (probability dropped from 44% to 26.2%) have led investors to pull capital from risk assets. the substantial outflows from bitcoin and ethereum etfs suggest increased selling pressure and reduced demand, likely pushing prices down or limiting upside, despite some altcoins (xrp, sol, sui) seeing inflows.
The shift in sentiment is directly linked to near-term macroeconomic expectations surrounding the upcoming fomc meetings and revised probabilities for interest rate decisions in the next few months.
In brief Crypto exchange-traded products have lost nearly all of the $1.5 billion worth of inflows they've attracted so far in 2026. Bitcoin ETFs led last week’s outflows as investors reassessed near-term Fed rate cut expectations. Altcoin funds bucked the trend, with XRP, Solana, and Sui products drawing fresh inflows. Decrypt’s Art, Fashion, and Entertainment Hub. Discover SCENE Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs have nearly erased the gains they've logged since the start of the year. According to a new report from digital asset manager CoinShares , during a four-day losing streak, the funds lost $1.3 billion of their collective $1.5 billion worth of inflows since the start of January. Over the last full week, $454 million worth of assets have left crypto exchange-traded products. "Bitcoin bore the brunt of the negative sentiment, seeing $405 million outflows last week, although we also saw $9.2 million outflows from short-Bitcoin [funds], sending mixed signals as to the general market sentiment for the asset," wrote James Butterfill, the head of research at CoinShares. Bitcoin recently traded for $91,722 after having gained 1% in the past day, according to crypto price aggregator CoinGecko. He added that the shift in sentiment is mainly due to lower Fed rate cut expectations for March. The Federal Open Markets Committee will next meet to decide federal interest rates on January 27-28. Futures trading activity shows investors think there's a 95% chance that regulators will leave rates unchanged at their next meeting. A week ago, futures data indicated that traders thought there was a 44% chance the FOMC would lower rates in March. But that's since dropped to 26.2%. Futures trading now indicates there's a 72.7% chance that rates will again be left the same in March. Users on Myriad, a prediction market platform owned by Decrypt parent company Dastan, still think there's a good chance the Fed will cut rates—but it may not happen for a couple months. Predictors believe there's a 59% chance the FOMC will enact a 25-basis point cut before this July. But while Bitcoin and Ethereum saw assets leave funds, altcoin products saw the opposite. "Positive sentiment persisted for XRP, Solana, and Sui, drawing inflows of $45.8 million, $32.8 million, and $7.6 million, respectively," Butterfill wrote in the Monday report. At the time of writing, the XRP and Sui had each lost just under 1% in the past day and were trading for $2.07 and $1.80, respectively. Meanwhile, Solana had gained 2.2% since Sunday and was changing hands for about $142. Daily Debrief Newsletter Start every day with the top news stories right now, plus original features, a podcast, videos and more. Your Email Get it! Get it!