Bitcoin ETFs post first outflow in nine days as altcoins gain

US spot Bitcoin ETFs gave back money for the first time in nine trading days. Friday's net outflow came to $201.8 million, Cointelegraph reported, closing out a run that had pulled in more than $3 billion since the streak began.

The streak had already shown signs of slowing two days earlier, when daily inflows dropped to $232 million. Friday finished the job. Bitcoin fell below $78,000 the same day, trading around $78,051.80 as the outflow numbers landed.

The withdrawals concentrated in three funds. ARK 21Shares' ARKB led with $114.9 million out the door, followed by Bitwise's BITB at $49.7 million and BlackRock's IBIT, the largest US spot Bitcoin ETF by assets, at $33.4 million. IBIT's presence on that list stands out: it's the fund that usually leads inflows when crypto ETF money moves, not outflows. Morgan Stanley's MSBT was the only fund in the green Friday, adding $9.3 million.

• ARKB: $114.9M outflow (largest of the day)
• BITB: $49.7M outflow
• IBIT: $33.4M outflow
• MSBT: $9.3M inflow (only fund in the green)
• Ether ETFs: $102.2M inflow
• XRP ETFs: $26.2M inflow
• Solana ETFs: $1.7B in cumulative flows, no sustained outflow stretch to date; Bitwise's Solana fund crossed $1B in assets

Bitcoin's outflow ran against the rest of the market. Ether ETFs pulled in $102.2 million the same day, XRP ETFs added $26.2 million, and Solana funds kept building on a run that has never hit a sustained outflow stretch. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas called Solana's performance "impressive," pointing to the "nightmare downturn" the token went through earlier in the year as the backdrop that makes the current run notable.

The split matters more than the headline number. A $202 million outflow on its own barely dents a market where single funds routinely move nine-figure sums in a day. What stands out is the direction: money left Bitcoin specifically, while Ether, XRP, and Solana funds absorbed fresh cash on the same trading day. That pattern reads as a reallocation inside crypto rather than a broader retreat from the asset class, since a genuine risk-off move would have hit the altcoin funds too.

US ETFs don't trade weekends, so Friday's numbers are the freshest read available heading into the new week. Whether the outflow marks a one-day stumble or the start of something longer depends on where Bitcoin's price settles once trading resumes and whether IBIT, the fund that sets the tone for the rest of the market, goes back to buying.

This piece is informational, not a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any asset.