On March 26, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF experienced the largest outflow of funds in the past three weeks, with a net outflow of over $170 million in a single day. Even Ark Invest, which has traditionally supported cryptocurrencies, significantly reduced its holdings in the Bitcoin ETF it issued in partnership with 21Shares on the same day, selling nearly 500,000 shares worth about $11.2 million.
According to SoSoValue statistics, the U.S. Bitcoin spot ETF recorded a net outflow of $171.2 million on Thursday, marking the highest single-day bloodshed since March 6, with BlackRock’s IBIT leading the outflow at $41.9 million, followed by Fidelity, Bitwise, and Ark’s funds, each with outflows exceeding $30 million.
Analysts: Short-term profit-taking, not long-term confidence weakening
Nick Ruck, research director at LVRG, analyzed that this wave of capital outflow reflects short-term profit-taking, hedging operations amid overall economic uncertainty, and capital rotation during market volatility, rather than a significant change in long-term investment confidence.
Nick Ruck pointed out that institutional investors maintain a cautiously optimistic attitude towards cryptocurrencies, with sustained interest in Bitcoin on one hand and a gradual acceptance of tokenized traditional assets on the other. He explained that institutional sentiment is mainly influenced by macroeconomic factors, including the U.S.-Iran war and the resulting global oil shortage issue.
On the other hand, the Ether spot ETF also recorded a net outflow of $92.5 million on Thursday, marking the seventh consecutive trading day of outflows, setting the longest bloodshed record since December 2025.
Ark reduces its holdings in its Bitcoin ETF
As institutional funds reposition themselves, Ark Invest, led by Cathie Wood, reduced its holdings in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) by a total of 495,000 shares worth about $11.2 million on Thursday.
On the same day, Ark also reduced its holdings in several cryptocurrency-related stocks, including selling $6.7 million worth of Bullish shares and about $5.1 million worth of Block shares. These operations coincided with the general selling pressure on technology stocks that day, including Alphabet, NVIDIA, and Meta, all of which were also reduced.