Bitcoin ETFs suffer near $1 billion in outflows in 2 days, as Trump Media withdraws bitcoin ETF application
Bitcoin’s price is “trapped between 76,000 and 78,000,” with analysts saying the dip reflects “a deeper structural problem beneath crypto markets.”
Bitcoin ETFs have bled out almost $1 billion in just two days this week, on track to surpass last week’s $1 billion exit, according to SoSoValue.
And in an increasingly competitive ETF landscape, Trump Media & Technology Group withdrew its application for a bitcoin ETF on Tuesday, which it had filed in June 2025.
Bitcoin ETFs have been a strong support for bitcoin since the war began, helping the asset navigate geopolitical and macro headwinds. But analysts have warned that a sustained reversal in flows could weaken support and drag the price lower.
Bitcoin, which lost the key $80,000 level, has been trading in the $76,100 to $77,550 range in the past 24 hours. Rising bond yields coupled with uncertainty over the war in Iran are among the factors weighing on bitcoin.
“Bitcoin has recently remained trapped between 76,000 and 78,000, reflecting a market that is still waiting for macro direction. If global long-end yields continue moving higher, volatility across risk assets could accelerate sharply once again,” Dean Chen, a Bitunix analyst, told Sherwood News.
Tim Sun, a senior researcher at HashKey, told Sherwood that the past two weeks’ outflows, which came on the heels of six consecutive weeks of inflows, suggest the early May rebound lacked sustainability.
“This indicates that institutional capital was actually reducing positions rather than adding to them as prices spiked,” Sun said.
Bitfinex analysts echoed the sentiment, saying that bitcoin’s latest breakdown below $78,000 is exposing a deeper structural problem beneath crypto markets: the two largest sources of marginal demand, spot ETFs and leveraged yield vehicles, are both beginning to weaken simultaneously just as macro conditions turn more hostile.
In other words, on-chain capital flows no longer show the aggressive institutional conviction that sustained previous bull phases, making bitcoin vulnerable to exogenous shocks, they said.
“We’ve been saying that STRC and other similar products are driving the demand side, combined with the ETF inflows. Now that the ETF inflows are tinier, and institutional demand isn’t as strong, STRC’s demand isn’t enough, so the overall institutional demand we’re framing is weaker,” they told Sherwood.
Glassnode analysts also said that TradFi sentiment is softening, with “US Spot ETF MVRV [market value to realized value] falling 6.1% and ETF Netflows deteriorating sharply, pointing to weaker institutional conviction.”
The ratio represents a 6.11% reduction in the unrealized gains of ETF positions, they said in a report.
Taking a step back, Ishmael Asad, a Bitwise research analyst, told Sherwood that while the outflows are in tandem with bitcoin’s rally cooling off as investors reposition, “YTD net flows for bitcoin ETFs remain slightly positive at about +$432 million, despite a negative YTD return for Bitcoin of -12.3%.”
Concurrently with the brutal outflows, Trump Media & Technology Group withdrew its Bitcoin ETF application on Tuesday, as well as its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF and its Crypto Blue Chip ETF.
Yorkville America Digital, the sponsor of the Truth Social Bitcoin ETF, said in a press release that “the withdrawal of the ’33 Act filings is a proactive strategic decision,” adding that a 40 Act structure would be more beneficial.
However, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart pointed out another probable reason for the withdrawal: the increasingly competitive bitcoin ETF landscape.
“Of course, a 33 act ETP is different from a 40 act ETF and it has less protections. Anyone in this space knows that. Nothing has changed,” Seyffart posted on X.
In April, Morgan Stanley launched its Morgan Stanley Bitcoin TRUST fund on the New York Stock Exchange. The fund has $232.69 million in assets under management — small potatoes compared to BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF, which leads the pack with $61.99 billion AUM.
Yet, a major differentiator is that Morgan Stanley’s fund charges a 0.14% fee, the lowest among bitcoin ETFs. In comparison, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust charges a 0.25% fee, while Grayscale’s Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF has a 0.15% fee.
