Investors have withdrawn roughly $1.82 billion from US-based spot Bitcoin and Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the last five trading days, reflecting a dip in market sentiment subsequent to a rally in precious metals.

Between Monday and Friday, US spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs experienced a loss of $1.49 billion, while spot Ether (ETH) ETFs saw net outflows of $327.10 million, as per data from Farside. The outflows occurred amidst a price drop for both cryptocurrencies, despite emerging signals of a rebound. Over the previous week, Bitcoin and Ether reported declines of 6.55% and 8.99% respectively, trading at $83,400 and $2,685, according to CoinMarketCap.

Bitcoin decline Bitcoin is down 5.13% over the past 30 days. Source: CoinMarketCap

In the two days leading up to January 15, Bitcoin surged 7%, fueled by speculation surrounding the US CLARITY Act, although this rally was short-lived. The Bitcoin ETF recorded its highest inflow for 2026 on January 14, reaching $840.6 million, right before the Crypto Fear & Greed Index rocketed to its peak score of the year at 61, indicating a sentiment of “Greed.”

Bitcoin Sentiment Shifting

ETF analyst Eric Balchunas remarked on the short-sighted negativity surrounding Bitcoin’s performance relative to gold and silver.

“Bitcoin dominated everything in ‘23 and ‘24,” Balchunas mentioned in a post on X, noting that many have forgotten this trend.
Translation: Bitcoin did extremely well in the years ‘23 and ‘24, yet people seem to overlook this.

He added, “Other assets still have not caught up even after reportedly having their best year. Bitcoin, on the other hand, has been relatively inactive.”

Recognizing that the narrative regarding institutional investment around Bitcoin was quickly priced in before it truly came to fruition, Balchunas stated that the market needed a pause for the reality to align with the price movement.

While gold and silver experienced unprecedented highs of $5,608 and $121 respectively this week, gold alone plummeted 8% to $4,887 on Friday, while silver saw a staggering drop of about 27% to $84.

Bitwise’s chief investment officer, Matt Hougan, mentioned on X that if the demand for ETFs persists over the long haul, “Bitcoin’s price might skyrocket.”

Related Link: Extreme fear in crypto suggests a strong bullish sign: Santiment

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