Institutional outflows from Bitcoin ETFs continue to record heavy losses ahead of the festive season, as the United States (US) emerged as the biggest seller of Bitcoin (BTC) over the past five days.
According to data from Farside Investors, a UK-based investment firm, net outflows from US-based Bitcoin spot ETFs alone reached over $175 million (about RM825 million) on Christmas Eve.
This adds to a total loss of $825.7 million (over RM3.7 billion) over the five trading days from December 15, with only one day recording net inflows.
Analysts have attributed the poor performance of Bitcoin ETFs to seasonal factors, particularly tax loss harvesting activities ahead of the end of the financial year.
Noted investor Alek, in his post on the X platform, explained that most of the sales were for tax management purposes and were expected to end within a week.
Furthermore, last Friday saw the expiration of a record quarterly options period, putting pressure on institutional investors’ risk appetite.
However, Alek is optimistic that this is temporary and institutions are expected to return to buying Bitcoin soon after the holiday season ends.
This phenomenon is also supported by the Coinbase Premium chart which shows the price difference between BTC/USD on Coinbase and BTC/USDT on Binance being in negative territory throughout December. This indicates continued selling pressure in the US trading session.
This situation reflects a dynamic shift in the global Bitcoin market, with institutions in Asia showing increasing interest, in contrast to US institutions taking a cautious approach towards the end of the year.
