US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded $171 million in outflows on Thursday, their largest daily redemptions since March 3, when they posted $348 million in outflows. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led with $41 million of outflows, followed by Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) with $32 million, the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) with $30.5 million, and Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) with $24 million, according to Farside Investors.
The redemptions interrupt a recent period of demand for Bitcoin ETFs, which have attracted $1.36 billion in inflows so far in March and are on track for their first month of net accumulation since October 2025, when ETFs logged $3.42 billion in net inflows, per Sosovalue data.
US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs are viewed as a barometer of institutional demand for Bitcoin (BTC). BTC fell below $70,000 on Thursday, down 4.7% over the past week and trading at $67,780 at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap.
Still, senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said ETFs are “one good day away” from reversing year-to-date outflows and praised their “incredible fortitude” amid Bitcoin’s 46% correction from the $126,198 all-time high in October 2025. For context, Balchunas noted that when gold fell about 40% around a decade ago, it lost roughly one-third of its investors.
The sell-off in Bitcoin ETFs followed reports that the US Department of War is sending thousands of soldiers to the Middle East, sources told Reuters. On Thursday, US President Donald Trump announced a 10-day extension to a ceasefire on Iranian energy infrastructure, moving the deadline to April 6 and citing constructive ongoing negotiations.
Despite the extension, market participants remain concerned about a potential unexpected weekend escalation. Kyle Rodda, senior financial analyst at Capital.com, told Cointelegraph that “amidst the headline risk and he-said, she-said games about whether negotiations between the US and Iran are taking place, the US is moving assets and personnel towards the Middle East to prepare for what looks like a limited ground invasion.” Investors are jittery after the initial US and Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, which occurred in the middle of constructive negotiations.
Related coverage has noted filings and changes among institutional Bitcoin ETF applicants, including Morgan Stanley’s amended S-1 for a prospective Bitcoin ETF.
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