Selling pressure in US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs continued Thursday, with analysts noting the cryptocurrency is on track for one of its worst yearly starts.
Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs saw $165.8 million in outflows Thursday, bringing weekly losses to $403.9 million, according to SoSoValue data.
The redemptions moved the funds closer to a possible five-week outflow streak, with year-to-date (YTD) losses totaling $2.7 billion.
Trading activity continued to shrink, falling 21% over the week and reaching its lowest levels since late December, signaling weakening investor activity.
Despite $53.9 billion in cumulative net inflows, analysts, including DropsTab, noted that 2026 is shaping up to be “one of the worst yearly starts in Bitcoin’s history,” with BTC prices down about 22% year-to-date, according to TradingView data.
BlackRock’s IBIT leads losses with $368 million in outflows this week
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) accounted for the bulk of outflows this week, totaling $368 million, according to Farside data.
Other US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs saw little or no activity this week, aside from about $50 million in outflows from the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) on Wednesday.
Some major financial institutions reported reducing IBIT exposure earlier this week, with Brevan Howard cutting its holding in the fund by as much as 85% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
Bitcoin set for one of its worst yearly starts
The ongoing outflows from Bitcoin ETFs coincide with weakening investor sentiment, as multiple sources point to unusually low BTC price levels compared to previous cycles.
Drops Analytics highlighted Bitcoin’s price in the context of halving — an event that reduces BTC’s block reward once every four years and is typically followed by price surges in the years that follow.
“Almost two years later, BTC trades around $66,000 — nearly the same level as during the April 2024 halving,” Drops Analytics said in a Telegram post on Thursday.
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“This has never happened before. In previous cycles, BTC was already three to 10 times above halving levels by now,” it added.
According to Checkonchain data, Bitcoin is off to its worst yearly start on record, 50 days into 2026, surpassing previous down years, including 2018.
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Author: Helen Partz
