Bitcoin ETF Outflows Hit $253M as BTC Drops Below $109K

The United States crypto ETF market faced substantial selling pressure on Thursday, September 26, 2025, as spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a collective outflow of $253.4 million. This movement came as Bitcoin’s price weakened, dropping to a four-week low just below $109,000. The day’s outflows pushed the total for the week to approximately $480 million, with expectations of a further increase as BTC prices breached key support levels. While the asset has not yet fallen to the correction low of around $107,500 seen in early September, the persistent outflows indicate a cooling of investor enthusiasm following several months of strong inflows that had topped $57 billion.

Amid the broad retreat, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) stood as the sole outlier. It registered a $78 million inflow, extending its streak to three consecutive weeks without a single day of outflows. This resilience contrasts sharply with its competitors. Major providers including Fidelity, Bitwise, ARK 21Shares, Franklin, VanEck, and Grayscale all saw money exit their respective funds. The divergence highlights BlackRock’s dominant position; data from HODL15Capital shows IBIT purchased 1,900 Bitcoin this week (Monday-Thursday), following acquisitions of 7,500 BTC last week and 9,100 BTC two weeks ago.

The outflow trend was not confined to Bitcoin. Spot Ether ETFs mirrored the movement, suffering a similar single-day outflow of $251 million on Thursday. This brought the weekly total for ETH fund outflows to $547 million, reflecting a double-digit percentage price decline for Ethereum in less than a week. However, against this bearish backdrop, a potentially significant regulatory development emerged. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) met with top-10 ETF issuer VanEck to discuss the ‘implications of tokenization of ETFs and the role of the underlying issuer,’ as reported by ETF expert Nate Geraci.

This discussion around ETF tokenization is viewed as a potentially bullish long-term development for Ethereum, which serves as the industry’s primary platform for bringing real-world assets on-chain. Should the SEC move forward with allowing tokenized versions of ETFs, it could unlock new levels of efficiency, liquidity, and accessibility for digital asset investments, firmly positioning Ethereum at the center of this innovation.

Despite the short-term market weakness, the underlying pace of product innovation in the crypto ETF space accelerated. This week saw the launch of the first Ether staking ETF from REX-Osprey. Simultaneously, Bitwise filed for the first-ever Hyperliquid (HYPE) ETF, signaling interest in expanding beyond the two crypto giants. In another key approval, the Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF was greenlit under the SEC’s new generic listing standards, offering a diversified crypto basket to investors.

Perhaps most notably, BlackRock registered the name ‘iShares Bitcoin Premium ETF.’ According to ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, this filing signals an upcoming covered call strategy for Bitcoin, designed to generate yield. Balchunas suggested that BlackRock’s decision to double down on Bitcoin-centric products, rather than immediately pursuing ETFs for other cryptocurrencies, indicates a strategy to ‘build around BTC and ETH and lay off the rest, at least for now.’ This focus from the world’s largest asset manager could leave the competitive landscape wide open for other issuers to champion altcoin ETFs.

In conclusion, while the crypto ETF market is navigating a period of price-induced outflows, the flurry of regulatory engagement and product filings demonstrates that institutional interest in the asset class is far from diminished. The developments with VanEck and the SEC on tokenization, coupled with new strategic products from BlackRock and Bitwise, suggest that the infrastructure around crypto investing is maturing rapidly, setting the stage for the next phase of growth once market sentiment improves.