Institutional Outflows Hit US Spot Bitcoin ETFs

Capriole Investments’ Net Institutional Buying metric fell to -464%, the lowest reading since the series began in 2020. The metric aggregates flows from US spot ETFs, corporate treasuries and Bitcoin miners; its rate-of-change components dropped below zero and the ETF component slid to -0.0126%.

Analyst Charles Edwards shared Capriole’s data and wrote on social media: “We are currently witnessing record Institutional selling of Bitcoin.” He also highlighted selling that exceeds daily mined supply rates, with ETFs as the leading source of outflows.

On-chain balance data from Glassnode shows aggregate US spot ETF holdings peaked near $160 billion when Bitcoin exceeded $126,000 in autumn 2025. By June 2026 those holdings had fallen to about $75 billion across nearly every issuer. Part of the decline reflects lower token prices; ETF flow records show 13 consecutive days of net outflows through early June that removed about $4.3 billion.

CryptoQuant data shows newer whale wallets realized roughly $2.5 billion in losses as Bitcoin dropped from the high $70,000s toward $60,000, while older whale wallets were roughly flat. That activity corresponds with investors who bought during the 2024–25 rally.

Bitcoin traded near $61,005 at publication, down about 2.7% on the day and roughly 25% over the past month, with a market capitalization near $1.22 trillion. On-chain analysts identify $60,000 as the nearest psychological support and note a sustained break below that level could lead to prices in the low $50,000s; they say reclaiming the $70,000 area would align with stabilizing flows.

Capriole’s historical series shows readings of this magnitude have coincided with periods of aggressive distribution rather than accumulation. Capriole’s data indicates that returning to net positive institutional demand would require sustained buying from at least one major cohort, such as renewed ETF inflows, corporate treasury purchases or slower miner sales.

ETF outflows have been broad-based across funds that absorbed the largest inflows during the 2024–25 rally. ETF managers monitoring liquidity attribute the falling ETF balances to a combination of redemptions and price declines.