Selling pressure on U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs continued on Thursday, with analysts noting the cryptocurrency is on the right track for considered one of its worst starts to the 12 months.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs (BTC) recorded $165.8 million in outflows on Thursday, leading to weekly losses of $403.9 million, in line with SoSoValue data.
The redemptions brought funds closer to a possible five-week run of outflows, with year-to-date (YTD) losses totaling $2.7 billion.
Daily flows on spot Bitcoin ETFs within the US this week. Source: SoSoValue
Trading activity continued to contract, falling 21% for the week and reaching its lowest level since late December, indicating a slowdown in investor activity.
Despite cumulative net inflows of $53.9 billion, analysts including DropsTab noted that 2026 is shaping as much as be “considered one of the worst starts to the 12 months in Bitcoin history,” in line with TradingView data, with BTC prices down about 22% year-to-date.
BlackRock's IBIT leads losses this week with outflows of $368 million
According to Farside data, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) accounted for nearly all of outflows this week, totaling $368 million.
Other U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs saw little to no activity this week, apart from about $50 million in outflows from the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) on Wednesday.
Daily flows in US spot Bitcoin ETFs by issuer. Source: Farside.co.uk
Some major financial institutions reported reductions in IBIT exposure earlier this week, with Brevan Howard reducing his holding within the fund by as much as 85% within the fourth quarter of 2025.
Bitcoin is facing considered one of its worst starts to the 12 months
The ongoing outflows from Bitcoin ETFs coincide with weaker investor sentiment as multiple sources point to unusually low BTC price levels in comparison with previous cycles.
Drops Analytics has highlighted Bitcoin price within the context of the halving – an event that reduces BTC's block reward every 4 years and typically leads to price increases in the next years.
Source: Drops Analytics
“Almost two years later, BTC is trading at around $66,000 – almost the identical level as throughout the April 2024 halving,” Drops Analytics said in a Telegram post on Thursday.
“This has never happened before. In previous cycles, BTC has already been three to 10 times above the halving level,” he added.
According to Checkonchain data, Bitcoin is off to its worst begin to the 12 months on record at 50 days in 2026, surpassing previous bad years including 2018.
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