US bitcoin ETF outflows hit three-week high as Ark Invest cuts holdings in own BTC fund

U.S. spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds recorded their largest single-day net outflows in three weeks on Thursday.

According to data from SoSoValue, spot bitcoin ETFs reported $171.2 million in net outflows across seven funds, marking their largest daily outflow since March 6.

Among the ETFs, BlackRock's IBIT posted the largest outflows at $41.9 million, with other funds from Fidelity, Bitwise, and Ark each seeing over $30 million in outflows.

"Yesterday's $171 million outflow of spot bitcoin ETFs reflects short-term profit-taking, hedging due to macroeconomic uncertainty, and rotating capital amid broader market volatility rather than a substantial shift in long-term conviction," said LVRG Research Director Nick Ruck.

Ruck added that institutional investors remain cautiously optimistic on crypto amid continued interest in bitcoin and growing acceptance of tokenized traditional assets. The analyst explained that institutional sentiment is largely driven by macroeconomic factors, including the U.S.-Iran war and the resulting global oil shortage.

Spot Ethereum ETFs also reported $92.5 million in net outflows on Thursday, extending their streak of negative flows to seven consecutive days — the longest since last December.

Ark sells ARKB

Amid the institutional repositioning, Ark Invest sold a notable portion of its Ark & 21Shares bitcoin ETF (ARKB) on Thursday. According to its trade filing, the Cathie Wood-led company offloaded 495,000 shares of ARKB, worth about $11.2 million, across two funds.

The firm also reduced positions in Bullish, selling $6.7 million worth of shares, and Block Inc., offloading $5.1 million. The moves came alongside a broader sell-off in major tech stocks, including Alphabet, Nvidia and Meta.

Thursday's selling is part of Ark's investment strategy of actively rebalancing its exposure to stocks, including those of crypto-related companies. Ark typically caps individual holdings at around 10% of a fund's portfolio, maintaining diversification and prompting adjustments as market movements shift position weightings.