US Spot Crypto ETFs Record Net Outflows Amid Year-End Rebalancing
The US spot BTC and ETH ETF markets faced modest tradeing pressure on Monday, December 29, 2025, as institutional investors continued to adjust their portfolios ahead of the new year. According to the latest data from Farside Investors, spot BTC ETFs saw a total net outflow of $19.3 million, marking a cautious begin to the final trading week of 2025. BlackRock’s IBIT led the redemptions with $7.9 million leaving the fund, while Bitwise’s BTCO and Ark Invest’s ARKB recorded outflows of $10.4 million and $6.7 million respectively. This negative momentum was slightly offset by Fidelity’s FBTC, which managed to attract $5.7 million in new capital. Market analysts suggest that these movements reflect tactical tax-loss harvesting and profit-taking rather than a structural shift in sentiment, especially as BTC remains consolidated near the $87,000 to $89,000 range.
ETH ETFs and the Rotation Toward Selective Conviction
The ETH spot ETF market mirrored the cautious sentiment of its BTC counterpart, recording a total net outflow of $9.6 million on December 29. BlackRock’s ETHA experienced the most significant withdrawal at $13.3 million, while Fidelity’s FETH provided a minor counterweight with $3.7 million in inflows. The remainder of the US-listed ETH products, including those from Grayscale and VanEck, reported zero net flows for the session, indicating a period of stagnation in broader institutional interest for the leading smart-contract platform. Traders are closely monitoring these figures as they often serve as a proxy for institutional risk appetite. With total digital asset product outflows reaching $446 million over the past week, the current trend suggests that allocators are rotating risk and securing gains before fresh liquidity is expected to return in the first weeks of January 2026.
Institutional Resilience and the Rise of Niche Asset Inflows
Despite the broader outflows in major assets, selective institutional conviction has emerged in smaller niches, most notably in XRP-linked investment products. While BTC and ETH faced holiday-related withdrawals, XRP ETFs surpassed $1.25 billion in cumulative inflows, including $70.2 million in the final week of December alone. This rotation highlights a market that is becoming increasingly granular, with investors viewking specific narratives such as post-quantum cryptographic readiness to justify new allocations during a period of thin liquidity. As the total assets under management for US spot BTC ETFs sit at approximately $113.5 billion, the year-end de-risking is viewed as a healthy reset. Analysts at Galaxy Digital and other research firms remain optimistic that the improved regulatory signals expected for 2026 will eventually reverse the current outflow regime and drive a new wave of capital into the regulated crypto ecosystem.
