Bitcoin ETFs lose $635M in a day, October flows turn negative

US spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $635 million in net outflows on Thursday, Oct. 22, their largest single-day withdrawal since June, according to SoSoValue data cited by Cointelegraph. The move turned the funds' October tally negative again.

The numbers

• -$635 million on Thursday, the most since June 25, when the funds lost $696 million.
• It more than reversed Wednesday's $528 million of inflows and ended a three-day streak that had brought in $1.08 billion. We covered the start of that run in ETFs add $1.08 billion as bitcoin holds $82,500.
• October to date: -$175 million.
• This week: still +$443 million, after two straight weeks of outflows before it.

Price backdrop

Bitcoin traded between $80,996 and $82,551 on Thursday, below Wednesday's intraday high of $84,777, and was near $81,783 at the time of the report, about 1% lower over 24 hours according to CoinGecko. That keeps it close to the roughly $81,500 average cost basis of ETF buyers that analysts were watching earlier this week, as we noted in bitcoin circles its ETF cost basis.

Altcoin funds

Most other crypto ETFs also bled. Ether ETFs lost about $111 million, Solana ETFs roughly $9 million and Hyperliquid (HYPE) ETFs about $8 million. XRP ETFs were the exception, with around $3.6 million of inflows.

Why it matters

ETF flows are one of the clearest daily readings of US institutional and advisor demand. One heavy day does not set a trend: the week is still positive, and flows have swung between large inflows and outflows all month. The level to watch is whether price holds near the ETF holders' average entry, where some holders tend to sell to break even. If you are weighing a fund against owning coins directly, our guide on bitcoin ETF vs buying bitcoin explains the trade-offs.