U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds shifted back into negative territory on Tuesday, posting $243 million in net outflows after a strong start to the new year. The move followed more than $1.16 billion in combined inflows during the first two trading days of 2026, suggesting a pause rather than a reversal in investor demand.
Data from SoSoValue shows that Fidelity’s FBTC led the pullback, with $312.24 million exiting the fund. Grayscale’s GBTC recorded $83.07 million in outflows, while its BTC Mini Trust saw $32.73 million leave. Funds managed by Ark & 21Shares and VanEck also ended the day with net outflows.
The broader decline was partly offset by BlackRock’s IBIT, which stood out as the only spot bitcoin ETF to record net inflows on Tuesday. IBIT attracted $228.66 million on the day, bringing its total net inflows to $888 million across the first three trading sessions of 2026.
Market participants largely described the shift as routine. Vincent Liu, chief investment officer at Kronos Research, said the outflows appear to reflect post-inflow normalization rather than a broader risk-off move. He noted that institutional investors are likely rebalancing exposure after strong allocations, not stepping away from bitcoin altogether.
Bitcoin’s price action supported that view. Despite the outflows, the asset remained relatively stable, trading at around $92,521 at the time of writing, down 1.18% over the past 24 hours. Liu characterized the price movement as consolidation rather than a sign of capitulation. Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, echoed the sentiment, describing the flows as a modest pullback tied to profit-taking and routine portfolio adjustments.
While bitcoin ETFs cooled, interest in other crypto-linked products picked up. Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $114.7 million in net inflows on Tuesday, even as Grayscale and Fidelity saw money leave their respective ether funds. XRP and Solana ETFs also posted gains, attracting $19 million and $9 million in net inflows.
Jeff Mei, chief operating officer at BTSE, said the trend reflects traders rotating into assets they see as having greater upside potential relative to bitcoin, given how far each remains from previous all-time highs. Liu added that the relatively small inflow sizes into XRP and Solana suggest early positioning changes rather than a major shift in capital allocation.
