{"id":887850,"date":"2026-01-25T23:19:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-26T05:19:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/25\/bitcoin-critical-demand-metric-turns-negative-and-etfs-wiped-out-1-1-billion-in-72-hours\/"},"modified":"2026-01-25T23:19:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-26T05:19:40","slug":"bitcoin-critical-demand-metric-turns-negative-and-etfs-wiped-out-1-1-billion-in-72-hours","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/01\/25\/bitcoin-critical-demand-metric-turns-negative-and-etfs-wiped-out-1-1-billion-in-72-hours\/","title":{"rendered":"Bitcoin critical demand metric turns negative and ETFs wiped out $1.1 billion in 72 hours"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bitcoins <\/p>\n

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US-listed spot Bitcoin<\/a> ETFs have suffered three consecutive sessions of heavy redemptions of more than $1 billion.<\/p>\n

The velocity of this U-turn is surprising, considering this year began with a bang. On the first two trading days of this year, the 12 Bitcoin ETF products<\/a> combined to haul in nearly $1.2 billion.<\/p>\n

However, that inflow strength has given way to outflows.<\/p>\n

From Jan. 6 through Jan. 8, those same funds hemorrhaged capital, posting net outflows of $243.2 million, $486.1 million, and $398.8 million, respectively.<\/p>\n

\"bitcoins
US Bitcoin ETFs Inflow in 2026 (Source: SoSo Value)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The three-day bloodletting totaled roughly $1.13 billion, effectively netting the month\u2019s flows to a negligible positive balance of around $40 million.<\/p>\n

According to CryptoSlate’s<\/em> data, Bitcoin price action mirrored this volatility. On Jan. 8, the top crypto asset traded above $94,000, then tested\u00a0support below $90,000.<\/p>\n

Bitcoins The liquidity trap<\/h2>\n

The composition of the selling suggests this was not a retail panic but a structural de-risking by larger players using the most liquid instruments available.<\/p>\n

Indeed, the heaviest selling days saw the sector\u2019s giants\u2014BlackRock\u2019s IBIT<\/a> and Fidelity\u2019s FBTC<\/a>\u2014leading the exits.<\/p>\n

However, focusing solely on daily ETF churn may miss the broader signal.<\/p>\n

Analysis from CryptoQuant<\/a> suggests that attempting to time the market based on these flow optics is increasingly futile.<\/p>\n

CryptoQuant CEO Ki Young Ju noted that capital inflows into the broader Bitcoin network<\/a> have effectively dried up, and liquidity channels have become too diverse for any single metric to tell the full story.<\/p>\n

\"bitcoins
Bitcoin Realized Cap (Source: CryptoQuant)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Crucially, Ju argued that the market has evolved past the simplistic \u201cwhale-retail\u201d dump cycles of previous eras.<\/p>\n

He noted that the presence of massive institutional holders with infinite time horizons, most notably MicroStrategy, which holds a treasury of 673,000 BTC<\/a>, provides a floor that didn’t exist in prior bear markets.<\/p>\n

With these entities unlikely to liquidate, the probability of a catastrophic 50% crash from all-time highs is muted. Instead, the base case is shifting toward a regime of \u201cboring sideways\u201d price action as capital rotates out of crypto and into equities and other hard assets.<\/p>\n

Bitcoins The on-chain warning light<\/h2>\n

While the floor may be higher, internal momentum signals are flashing yellow.<\/p>\n

Data from CryptoQuant reveals that Bitcoin\u2019s \u201capparent demand\u201d<\/a> on a 30-day basis has slipped back into negative territory, suggesting that new capital absorption is no longer keeping pace with effective supply.<\/p>\n

\"bitcoins
Bitcoin Apparent Demand (Source: CryptoQuant)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This shift reflects a familiar macro-onchain pattern: long-term inactive coins re-enter circulation just as fresh demand weakens.<\/p>\n

The divergence becomes stark when comparing price action with this 30-day change in demand. In previous cycles, sustained positive demand tended to validate strong price advances.<\/p>\n

Currently, however, the price is stabilizing while demand remains structurally soft.<\/p>\n

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\"bitcoins <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

This indicates that recent rebounds are likely driven by short-term positioning rather than durable spot accumulation.<\/p>\n

Without a clear recovery in on-chain demand metrics, upside moves may continue to face selling pressure from both short-term holders and previously dormant supply re-entering the market.<\/p>\n

Notably, this aligns with the warning signs from the Market Value to Realized Value (MVRV) ratio<\/a>, a key gauge of network profitability that has begun to trend lower.<\/p>\n

\"bitcoins
Bitcoin MVRV Ratio (Source: CryptoQuant)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The declining MVRV indicates that network-wide unrealized profits are no longer expanding at the velocity seen during the bull run\u2019s peak.<\/p>\n

Currently, the metric sits in a fragile middle ground: It remains well above the \u201cvalue zone\u201d that typically attracts contrarian accumulation, yet lacks the momentum to justify a sustained premium.<\/p>\n

In this no-man’s-land, the asset becomes hypersensitive to negative catalysts.<\/p>\n

Bitcoins Macro headwinds and gold<\/h2>\n

Meanwhile, the stagnation in crypto demand is not happening in a vacuum; it coincides with a historic resurgence of its analog predecessor, gold, and the broader macro environment.<\/p>\n

Data<\/a> from The Kobeissi Letter has highlighted a dramatic shift in the global monetary order. The US dollar\u2019s share of global currency reserves has fallen to approximately 40%, its lowest level in two decades and an 18-percentage-point drop over the last 10 years.<\/p>\n

\"bitcoins
Gold and US Dollars in Global Reserve<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Conversely, gold\u2019s share of reserves has climbed to 28%, a high not seen since the early 1990s. This rise has allowed the bullion to now constitute a larger share of global foreign exchange reserves than the euro, yen, and British pound combined.<\/p>\n

The Kobeissi Letter noted that this is not a retail frenzy but a sovereign shift. Central banks are diversifying away from the greenback and stockpiling metal.<\/a><\/p>\n

This drove gold prices to a 65% rally in 2025<\/a>, the largest annual gain since 1979, while the US Dollar Index suffered its worst performance in eight years.<\/p>\n

However, a short-term dollar resurgence, which hit a one-month high this week, is complicating the picture.<\/p>\n

\"bitcoins
US Dollar Index (Source: Barchart)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This comes as the market is positioning for a potentially resilient US labor report.<\/a><\/p>\n

The stakes for this data print are high. A stronger-than-expected jobs report would likely reinforce the dollar\u2019s recent strength and push rate-cut expectations further out, weighing heavily on both gold and Bitcoin.<\/p>\n

Conversely, a weak report could reignite the liquidity hopes that fueled the year\u2019s brief, early rally.<\/p>\n

For now, the $1 billion outflow streak serves as a reality check. The ETF ecosystem has matured, but that maturity has brought correlation, not decoupling.<\/p>\n

With apparent demand turning negative and global capital rotating back into physical safe havens, Bitcoin appears set for a period of stagnation, caught between a high institutional floor and a ceiling of macro indifference.<\/p>\n

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Mentioned in this article<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Oluwapelumi Adejumo Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs have suffered three consecutive sessions of heavy redemptions of more than $1 billion. The velocity of this U-turn is surprising, considering this year began with a bang. On the first two trading days of this year, the 12 Bitcoin ETF products combined to haul in nearly $1.2 billion. However, that inflow<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":887851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4041,28822],"tags":[11476],"class_list":["post-887850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bitcoin","category-critical","tag-bitcoins"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=887850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/887851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=887850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=887850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}