CHONGQING, CHINA – JULY 17: In this photo illustration, a person holds a physical representation of a Bitcoin (BTC) coin in front of a screen displaying a candlestick chart of Bitcoin’s latest price movements on July 17, 2025 in Chongqing, China. (Photo illustration: Cheng Xin/Getty Images)
Chen Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images
black rock spots Bitcoin Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are having their worst month on record, with the underlying assets suffering the biggest monthly decline in more than three years.
The iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF recorded $2.2 billion in outflows this month as of Monday, according to FactSet data. That’s nearly eight times the $291 million in losses the investment vehicle suffered in October last year, making it its second worst month on record since its debut in early 2024.
The outflow comes as Bitcoin bleeds. The digital asset last traded at $87,907.10, down more than 20% in the past month and more than 40% from its high of just over $126,000 in early October. This makes November the worst month for Bitcoin prices since June 2022, when the asset’s price fell by about 39%.
“There’s no question that a lot of money has flown out of hot money investments,” Jay Hatfield, CEO and portfolio manager at Infrastructure Capital Advisors, told CNBC.
But, he said, “the pullback is really concentrated in the gambling part of the market… and Bitcoin is the epitome of that.”
Investors are pulling money out of BlackRock funds and into risk-off assets such as gold amid growing economic uncertainty and signs of deteriorating market sentiment.
A recent study from the University of Michigan shows that consumer sentiment is near record lows. Meanwhile, investors are awaiting key data from the September retail sales and producer price index report to be released on Tuesday. And while traders are currently pricing in a more than 80% chance that the Fed will cut rates at its December meeting, it is far from a certainty, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Amidst all the uncertainty, Bitcoin is bleeding. And Spot Bitcoin ETF investors, especially new holders, are feeling pressure to sell their shares — a reality that could magnify the asset’s downside in the short term, Frank Chaparro, head of content and special projects at crypto-focused trading firm GSR, told CNBC.
“As the macro environment becomes less uncertain, investors tend to de-risk their assets overall, which often means reducing exposure to cryptocurrencies and other risk-sensitive stocks,” Chaparro said. “And any downturn can be unsettling for new entrants who come in through funds. They can sell as quickly as they buy.”
But while it’s true that Spot Bitcoin ETFs are attracting a large number of fickle new retail investors during volatile times, Joshua Levin, chairman of Bitcoin treasury firm Orange BTC, told CNBC that the funds are also attracting a wide range of long-term investors, including institutional investors who can hold out through economic downturns.
Levine said the institutional underpinnings “may not only limit some of the extreme downside, but also smooth out the upside, reducing Bitcoin’s volatility as the asset class matures.”
