Key takeaways
- Bitcoin fell below $90,000 as global ETF flows turned negative, with $2.9 billion withdrawn from crypto ETFs over the past week.
- If the trend continues, November will mark the largest ever net withdrawals from crypto funds.
- Macroeconomic uncertainty and forced liquidations have amplified volatility and the correlation between bitcoin and gold has weakened.
With the bitcoin sell-off worsening, investors in cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds have started to exit for the first time since the early months of 2025.
So far this month, investors have withdrawn a net $2.9 billion from crypto ETFs around the world. If sustained, this would represent a record level of monthly withdrawals, amounting to approximately 1.7% of the $172 billion held in crypto assets. Last February recorded the largest outflows of funds, at $1.8 billion.
The largest crypto ETF, the $72 billion US-based iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, lost $1.2 billion in the first 17 days of November. The iShares ETF represents almost 40% of the entire category’s assets.
These withdrawals come against a backdrop of worsening Bitcoin sales. Just 43 days after hitting a new all-time high near $126,000, the world’s most popular cryptocurrency fell below $90,000 for the first time in seven months. With this drop of almost 29% from its peak, bitcoin is now down 2.4% in 2025, having completely erased a rally that began in April. Bitcoin has lost over $1.1 trillion in market capitalization, now hovering around $3.2 trillion.
Redemptions were particularly concentrated last week, when global investors withdrew $2.9 billion from crypto ETFs.
Bitcoin “whales” are leaving
For investors, the question is no longer whether this is a systematic decline. Some market participants say the speed and scale of the move suggests a broader reset, driven by tightening financial conditions and a shift in institutional positioning.
David Puell, a trading analyst at ARK Invest, says large early adopters of bitcoin – so-called “whales” – have sold and made profits at the highest rate since 2021. According to CoinDesk, the number of investors holding more than 1,000 bitcoins has steadily declined over the last year. This cohort peaked above 1,500 in November 2024, after US President Donald Trump’s election victory. This figure fell to around 1,300 in October.
Why is Bitcoin falling?
Analysts say bitcoin’s fall can be attributed to a convergence of macroeconomic, liquidity and sentiment pressures that have rattled even the staunchest crypto supporters.
The crisis dates back to October 10 – the “Black Friday” of cryptocurrencies – when liquidations exceeded $19 billion. Investors have been confused by mixed signals from the US Federal Reserve on the likelihood of a short-term interest rate cut. In early October, it was widely expected that the Fed would cut rates in December, but in recent weeks those expectations have diminished. Higher rates and tight liquidity make non-yielding assets like Bitcoin less attractive.
The sell-off was also amplified by margin calls from investors using borrowed money to fund their crypto positions. As the value of Bitcoin fell, highly leveraged positions were eliminated, triggering cascading liquidations. Meanwhile, other long-time investors sold for profits, accelerating the decline.
The correlations that previously supported Bitcoin have also weakened. After tracking closely for over a year, gold has outperformed bitcoin by around 25 percentage points since October 10. Ethereum followed a similarly steep trajectory, falling approximately 35% during this period and moving into negative territory for the year.
Observers say psychology also plays an important role. Market “fear and greed” indicators have fallen sharply, suggesting a shift toward risk aversion, and headlines about forced selling are fueling a broader sense of worry.
Correction: In a previous version of this article, the note under the first two charts incorrectly referred to European rather than global ETFs.
