Bitcoin investors yanked $635 million from spot ETFs in a day. Here's what it means for price

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Bitcoin investors yanked $635 million from spot ETFs in a day. Here's what it means for price The single-largest outflow since late January comes as bitcoin turns lower from the 200-day moving average. By Omkar Godbole May 14, 2026, 6:08 a.m. 2 min read Make preferred on Bitcoin ETFs bleed over $600 million in a single day. (sergeitokmakov/Pixabay) What to know : Investors have pulled about $1.26 billion from U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs over the past five trading days, including a single-day outflow of $635 million on Wednesday, the largest since late January. Bitcoin’s rally has stalled below its 200-day moving average near $82,000, with the price slipping to around $79,400 as renewed U.S. inflation concerns weigh on the market. The once-tight link between ETF flows and bitcoin’s price has weakened, correlation study shows. A key tailwind that supposedly powered bitcoin's recent rise above $80,000 appears to be fading. The 11 U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which pulled in $3.29 billion in investor money through March and April, are now leaking funds. And sizeable ones at that. On Wednesday, investors yanked $635 million from these funds, the highest single-day net outflow since Jan. 29, according to data source SoSoValue . It wasn't an isolated event either. Over the past five trading days, the ETFs have bled a total of $1.26 billion, pulling total net inflows since debut in January 2024 down to $58.5 billion from $59.76 billion a week ago. Bitcoin has stopped rallying. Since last Wednesday, the upswing that carried prices from $65,000 to above $80,000 has stalled, with momentum running out of steam near the 200-day simple moving average positioned just above $82,000. In the past 24 hours, bitcoin has dropped over 2% to $79,400, with analysts attributing the loss to the resurgent inflation fears in the U.S., even though these macro developments have been largely shrugged off by Wall Street's Nasdaq and S&P 500 equity index. Both these indices hit new highs on Wednesday. The $635 million outflow is not a number that bulls can easily dismiss, particularly since the strong inflows through March and April were widely hailed as bullish catalysts, and the macro picture is worsening due to rising inflation in the U.S. "A persistently hot CPI, an incoming Fed under Warsh that markets read as more hawkish, or another oil shock can compress bitcoin even with positive net flows. From our perspective, the more useful question is not whether the markup leg continues, but whether macro conditions stay loose enough for the flows to do their work," Adam Haeems, head of asset management at Tesseract Group, said. Tesseract has over $500 in assets under management. Still, it's worth noting that the relationship between ETF flows and bitcoin is not as straightforward as it once was. A correlation study offers a more data-driven lens on that. Correlation between daily percent changes in BTC price and cumulative net inflow in ETFs. (SoSoValue, CoinDesk, Claude) The 90-day rolling Pearson coefficient between bitcoin's daily percentage return and the daily percentage change in cumulative net ETF inflows currently stands at just 0.16, statistically indistinguishable from zero and down from the peak of 0.68 in February. In plain terms, knowing the direction in which ETF flows moved on any given day may not offer any cues about BTC's price action. That said, large redemptions like the one seen on Wednesday still matter. More For You TRUMP token down 5% as namesake handset begins shipping next week By Sam Reynolds | Edited by Shaurya Malwa 1 hour ago Trump Mobile's T1 handset appears to be a re-skinned HTC U24 with assembly done in the U.S. What to know : The TRUMP token, the official memecoin tied to President Donald Trump, fell about 5 percent as Trump Mobile said its long-delayed T1 handset will begin shipping next week. The T1 phone, sold by Trump Mobile, is a rebranded device likely based on an existing HTC model, with manufacturing details still... Read full story Latest Crypto News Claude helps recover $395,000 in bitcoin trapped on a computer for years 34 minutes ago TRUMP token down 5% as namesake handset begins shipping next week 1 hour ago Solana drops 5%, bitcoin below $80,000 as Xi warns Trump on Taiwan conflict 1 hour ago Ethereum app builder Consensys has delayed its potential IPO until fall 11 hours ago The Protocol: Solana’s ‘Alpenglow’ upgrade is live for testing 13 hours ago Metaplanet delays preferred share listing amid challenging Japanese market structure 13 hours ago Top Stories Clarity Act amendments would remake key parts of crypto bill but have doubtful future 15 hours ago Crypto wallet provider Ledger puts U.S. IPO plans on hold due to market conditions 15 hours ago The $82,000 battle: bitcoin tests key resistance zone to form next major breakout 19 hours ago Charles Schwab begins U.S. rollout of spot crypto trading for retail customers 19 hours ago Nevada regulators push back after prediction market conference blames them for move May 13, 2026 Bitcoin holds below $81,000 with Trump-Xi talks on the horizon 18 hours ago