Demand for Bitcoin and crypto-related mutual funds continued to say no on Thursday despite the long-awaited end to the 43-day government shutdown within the US.
U.S. spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded net outflows of $866 million on Thursday, marking the second-worst day on record after every day outflows of $1.14 billion on February 25, 2025, in keeping with Farside Investors.
This marked the second straight day of outflows in Bitcoin ETFs as the top of the 43-day government shutdown within the US didn’t revive investor appetite.
The $866 million in outflows got here a day after President Donald Trump signed a government funding bill on Wednesday. The bill provides funding until January 30, 2026.
Bitcoin ETF flows (in USD, thousands and thousands). Source: Farside Investors
The lack of ETF demand is a significant concern for crypto investors as these funds, together with Michael Saylor's strategy, have been the foremost drivers of Bitcoin's momentum in 2025.
However, in keeping with Ki Young Ju, founder and CEO of crypto intelligence platform CryptoQuant, the Bitcoin bull market continues to be intact until the worth falls below the important thing $94,000 level, or the common cost basis of investors who’ve purchased Bitcoin within the last six to 12 months.
“I personally don't think the bear cycle shall be confirmed unless we lose this level. I might moderately wait than jump to conclusions,” Ju wrote in a Friday X post.
Other industry observers argued that the four-year cycle theory isn’t any longer relevant given the launch of Bitcoin ETFs and the brand new US administration.
“Since the launch of Bitcoin ETFs and recent management, we have now entered a brand new market structure,” Hunter Horsley, the CEO of asset management firm Bitwise, wrote in a post on Thursday
“I believe there's a reasonably good likelihood we've been in a bear marketplace for almost six months now and are almost out of it.”
“The environment for crypto has never been stronger straight away,” Horsley added.
The XRP ETF outperforms all ETF launches in 2025, signaling underlying crypto appetite
Despite market cycle concerns, emerging altcoin ETFs signal fundamental interest in cryptocurrencies.
As Cointelegraph reported, on Thursday the Canary Capital XRP (XRPC) ETF became the primary U.S.-based ETF to launch with spot XRP (XRP) tokens.
The XRP ETF's debut outperformed all other crypto and traditional ETF launches in 2025 and signaled higher demand for regulated altcoin funds.
“Congratulations to $XRPC on its day-one volume of $58 million, the biggest of any ETF launched this 12 months (out of 900) and just ahead of $BSOL’s $57 million,” Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas wrote in a post on Thursday.
“The two are in a league of their very own, even when third place is over $20 million away,” he added.
Among other crypto funds, Ether (ETH) ETFs recorded $259 million in outflows on Thursday, but Solana (SOL) ETFs recorded $1.5 million in inflows, extending their 13-day winning streak, in keeping with Farside Investors.
