Bitcoin price falls as BlackRock and Fidelity ETFs see heavy outflows
Bitcoin (BTC-USD) pulled back from recent highs on Thursday as institutional investors locked in profits after a strong start to the year. In the past 24 hours the price has fallen from around $93,000 (£69,175) to just over $90,000; This represents a roughly 2.5% pullback and coincides with significant outflows from major US spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
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Data Data from SoSoValue shows that US spot bitcoin (BTC-USD) ETFs recorded net outflows of $486 million on Wednesday. Outflows also affected spot ETFs Ethereum (ETH-USD) ($98.45 million) and XRP (XRP-USD) ($40.80 million).
BlackRock’s (BLK) IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC products saw the largest redemptions, with outflows of approximately $129 million and $247 million, respectively.
Despite the pullback, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) remains up over 3% last week, while Ethereum (ETH-USD) is still 6% higher in seven days despite a 3% drop on the day. CoinGecko.
As of publication, Bitcoin (BTC-USD) spot ETFs collectively hold $118.36 billion in net assets, representing approximately 6.5% of the total bitcoin market cap.
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Analysts argue that the recent decline is more about positioning and profit-taking than any disruption in Bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) underlying trend.
SynFutures COO Wenny Cai told Yahoo Finance UK that Bitcoin (BTC-USD) enters 2026 with a “more complex setup than previous cycles” as the asset recovers from a turbulent end through 2025. He noted that after falling to an October high of $126,000, price action in early January showed “renewed momentum” as markets strengthened on major exchanges.
Cai said the short-term chart points to a range-bound market with resistance in the $95,000-$98,000 band. He said this reflects a mix of profit-taking and selective re-risk-taking as investors wait for a clearer catalyst.
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He also argued that structural forces such as ETF development, digital asset institutional treasury strategies, and the rise of real-world asset-linked products mean that Bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) trajectory is increasingly tied to macroeconomic dynamics rather than pure speculation.
He added that even if volatility persists, institutional interest remains a “persistent source of demand” that can support more stable capital flows.
In the long term, Cai thinks the digital asset’s fundamentals are still solid, citing Bitcoin’s (BTC-USD) limited supply, growing institutional adoption, and “digital scarcity” rhetoric. However, he warned that risks around macro conditions, regulations and changing risk appetite could increase volatility. Market participants need to balance optimism with “disciplined risk management,” he said.
