CHONGQING, CHINA - JULY 17: A person is pictured holding a physical representation of a Bitcoin (BTC) in front of a screen displaying BTC's latest price movements as of July 17, 2025, in Chongqing, China. The illustration is by Cheng Xin/Getty Images.
According to FactSet data, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF has experienced $2.2 billion in outflows this month, a figure reported up until Monday. This amount is nearly eight times the $291 million in losses the ETF suffered last October, marking its second-worst month on record since its inception in early 2024.
BlackRock's spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is enduring its worst month ever, attributable to its underlying asset suffering its largest monthly decline in more than three years. Bitcoin's price was last recorded at $87,907.10, a drop exceeding 20% over the past month and over 40% from its peak of just above $126,000 observed in early October. This positions November as Bitcoin's worst month since June 2022 when its price plummeted around 39%.
"There's no doubt that hot-money investments have had significant outflows," Jay Hatfield, CEO and portfolio manager at Infrastructure Capital Advisors, told CNBC. However, he noted that this pullback is primarily concentrated on the speculative segment of the market, with Bitcoin being a primary example.
Investors are withdrawing from BlackRock's fund and shifting towards risk-off assets such as gold amidst escalating economic uncertainties and deteriorating market sentiment. A recent University of Michigan survey indicated a sharp drop in consumer sentiment to near record-low levels. Concurrently, investors anticipate critical data from the September retail sales and producer price index reports, scheduled for release on Tuesday. While the CME FedWatch Tool reveals that traders are pricing in over 80% probability of a Federal Reserve rate cut at its December meeting, this remains uncertain.
Amid this uncertainty, Bitcoin continues to decline. Investors in spot Bitcoin ETFs, especially newer shareholders, are feeling pressure to divest, potentially furthering the asset's downturn in the near term, according to Frank Chaparro, head of content and special projects at crypto-focused trading firm GSR.
"With the macro environment becoming less certain, investors tend to de-risk across assets, often reducing exposure to crypto and other risk-sensitive stocks," Chaparro explained. "And for newer investors who entered through these funds, any downturn can be unsettling—they might sell as quickly as they bought."
While spot Bitcoin ETFs have drawn in many new retail investors who might be quick to exit during volatility, the funds have also attracted long-term institutional investors capable of weathering the downturn, Joshua Levine, chairman at Bitcoin treasury firm OranjeBTC, told CNBC. This institutional support could help mitigate some of the extreme downsides while also smoothing out upswings, thereby reducing Bitcoin's volatility as the asset class matures.