Demand for Bitcoin and other crypto-linked investment products continued to weaken on Thursday, even after the much-anticipated end of the 43-day U.S. government shutdown.
U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded $866 million in net outflows, their second-worst day on record following the $1.14 billion drained on Feb. 25, 2025, data from Farside Investors shows.
It also marked the second straight day of ETF outflows, underscoring muted investor sentiment despite the government reopening.
The heavy withdrawals came just one day after President Donald Trump signed a stopgap funding bill on Wednesday, extending federal funding through Jan. 30, 2026.
The sharp drop-off in ETF demand is raising alarms among crypto investors, especially since these funds—alongside Michael Saylor’s aggressive accumulation strategy—were major catalysts behind Bitcoin’s surge in 2025.
Still, analysts say the broader bull market structure remains intact. According to Ki Young Ju, founder and CEO of CryptoQuant, Bitcoin would need to fall below $94,000—the average cost basis of investors who accumulated BTC over the past six to 12 months—for a true trend reversal to be confirmed.
“I don’t think the bear cycle is confirmed unless we lose that level. I’d rather wait than jump to conclusions,” Ju wrote in an X post on Friday.
Some analysts say the traditional four-year Bitcoin cycle no longer applies in today’s market, pointing to the impact of spot ETFs and shifting U.S. policy.
“With the arrival of Bitcoin ETFs and a new administration, we’ve moved into an entirely new market structure,” Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley said in an X post on Thursday.
“I think there’s a pretty good chance that we’ve been in a bear market for almost 6 months now and are almost through it.”
“The setup for crypto right now has never been stronger,” Horsley added.
XRP ETF Tops All 2025 Launches, Showing Strong Altcoin Demand
Even with broader concerns about the market cycle, new altcoin-focused ETFs suggest investor appetite for crypto remains solid.
Canary Capital’s XRP (XRPC) ETF—the first U.S. spot ETF to hold XRP directly—debuted on Thursday, according to Cointelegraph. Its launch outperformed every other crypto and traditional ETF rolled out in 2025, signaling rising demand for regulated altcoin investment products.
“Congrats to $XRPC for $58 million in day-one volume—the highest of any ETF launched this year (out of 900)—just barely edging out $BSOL’s $57 million,” Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas wrote in an X post on Thursday.
“The two of them are in a league of their own, with third place more than $20 million behind,” he added.
Elsewhere in the crypto ETF market, Ether funds saw $259 million in outflows on Thursday, while Solana ETFs attracted $1.5 million in new inflows, extending their winning streak to 13 consecutive days, according to Farside Investors.
