Bitcoin Correction Halts Institutional Demand as ETFs Witness $348.83 Million Withdrawals

Although Bitcoin has shown strong price movements earlier this week, the leading cryptocurrency has, however, closed the week on a negative note as investors' sentiment continues to grow weak.

Following Bitcoin’s negative price trend, institutional demand for spot Bitcoin ETFs has slowed significantly as data from SoSoValue shows that investors have pulled hundreds of millions of dollars across all funds during their last trading session.

Bitcoin ETFs see $348 million withdrawals

The data has revealed that the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a net outflow of $348.83 million on Friday, March 6, signaling a pause in institutional demand as Bitcoin faces another price correction.

While the withdrawal saw the Bitcoin ETFs close the week on a bearish note, it came as Bitcoin traded around $68,110, a massive decline from the $74,000 level it reclaimed three days prior.

This massive withdrawal marks the biggest outflow the Bitcoin funds have collectively recorded in March, sparking concerns among market participants.

While the pullback in the Bitcoin-based ETF demand comes amid broader market volatility, analysts are less worried as the overall inflow since the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States in 2024 remains extremely positive.

BlackRock retains dominance

While BlackRock has always maintained its lead regardless of the market conditions, the firm has seen its Bitcoin ETF dubbed IBIT record the largest withdrawals among all ETFs, seeing $143.45 million leave the fund.

As usual, Fidelity’s (FBTC) followed closely after posting $158.54 million in outflows over the same trading session. Meanwhile, the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF also experienced smaller withdrawals, seeing $9.56 million exit the fund.

While the funds pulled in extremely negative moves, none of the Bitcoin ETFs saw the mildest capital intake as institutional investors appear to be taking caution.