Bitcoin ETFs Bleed $636 Million in Single Day as Oil Spike and Geopolitical Fears Derail Rally

Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $635.6 million in net outflows on Thursday, October 22, their largest single-day withdrawal since June 25 and enough to reverse nearly 60% of the inflows from the prior three trading sessions. The exodus pushed October's cumulative ETF flows back to a net loss of roughly $176 million, with Ethereum and Solana funds also posting outflows on the same day.

The selloff followed a sharp deterioration in risk sentiment after reports emerged that the U.S. and Israel are preparing fresh strikes on Iran, sending Brent crude oil above $115 per barrel, its highest level since March. The Nasdaq fell 2.6% on the same session, and crypto traders pivoting into stock perpetuals saw bets on chip stocks, gold, and silver account for more than a fifth of crypto liquidations during the move. Bitcoin itself briefly topped $84,800 earlier in the week before the negative headlines erased the gains, and the token ended the week near $81,000, the same level at which it began, with the 50-day moving average now the key technical level in focus.

Against that backdrop, Strategy purchased 250 Bitcoin for approximately $21.5 million during the week and simultaneously spent $192.4 million buying back its own preferred shares. A shareholder vote on dividend mechanics is scheduled for October 28, and traders are watching it closely because the outcome will determine when the largest known corporate Bitcoin buyer returns to the market. Separately, 789 Bitcoin worth $64 million was transferred to Coinbase Institutional even as ETF outflows mounted, a move analysts say could signal shifting institutional sentiment.

On a brighter note for the asset class, Franklin Templeton, the $1.8 trillion asset manager, received Nasdaq approval to launch two new Bitcoin-oriented ETFs, and JPMorgan named Bitcoin its top long-term return asset for the first time. Prominent early Bitcoin investors including the Winklevoss twins and Barry Silbert are also reported to be piling into Zcash, which has been the standout major cryptocurrency rally of the year. On the development side, Bitcoin Core tightened its vulnerability-handling procedures after acknowledging that artificial intelligence tools can now surface exploitable bugs with a single prompt.