Spot bitcoin ETFs closed the first half of 2026 with $5.4 billion in net outflows, their first negative half-year since launch. DWF Labs ties the reversal to cooling crypto sentiment as capital shifts toward AI, with Blackrock’s IBIT flipping from magnet to source of redemptions.
Spot bitcoin ETFs have posted their first losing half-year, ending H1 2026 with $5.4 billion in net outflows, according to analysis by DWF Labs. The turn broke a streak of steady accumulation that had defined the category since the products launched.
The reversal followed two years of largely uninterrupted demand. Cumulative net flows had reached $56.6 billion at the start of the year, but the first quarter opened weak. January erased $1.6 billion in flows, and by Feb. 23 cumulative inflows had fallen to $53.8 billion.
April briefly restored confidence. Cumulative flows recovered to $59.8 billion by May 6, helped almost entirely by Blackrock’s IBIT, which DWF Labs said accounted for 99.6% of the category’s April inflow. But the rebound faded fast: from May 15 to June 3, bitcoin ETFs ran 13 straight sessions of outflows, the longest such streak since spot products launched, pulling $4.4 billion from the category.
IBIT flips from magnet to source of redemptions
Blackrock’s IBIT still leads by historical flows. Since launch the fund has attracted $60.3 billion in net inflows, or 3.3 times the total of every other fund combined, excluding Grayscale’s GBTC. DWF Labs said IBIT became the default institutional vehicle for bitcoin exposure, despite not carrying the lowest fee, because of Blackrock’s distribution reach across allocators and platforms.
That role reversed in 2026. After recovering in March and April, IBIT saw heavy redemptions in May and June, and DWF Labs said the fund posted $5 billion in net outflows across those two months, more than all previous IBIT outflow months combined. For much of the ETF era IBIT and other lower-cost funds had absorbed exits from GBTC, which has lost $27.1 billion because of its 1.5% fee and years of trapped holders leaving after conversion.
Ether ETFs follow the same path
The weakness reached beyond bitcoin. Spot ether ETFs also ended H1 2026 negative for the first time since launch, with $1.47 billion in net outflows across 123 trading days. Cumulative ether ETF inflows stood at $10.9 billion on June 30, down 28% from their October 2025 peak of $15.1 billion.
DWF Labs said institutional and retail enthusiasm has cooled as AI captures a larger share of capital and attention. Even so, the firm noted that about $80 billion remains in bitcoin ETFs. According to DWF Labs: “The fundamentals for crypto have never been stronger.”
Source: Bitcoin News
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