Cryptocurrency ETF sold off for $1.25 billion, Ethereum redemption wave intensifies

Ethereum ETF broke the 203-day record in a single day: a large outflow of funds attracted market attention

Last week, U.S. spot Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana exchange-traded funds (ETFs) combined experienced a net outflow of approximately US$1.25 billion, reversing the trend that drove widespread institutional buying in these three asset classes two weeks ago.

In the five trading days ended October 9, the spot Ethereum ETF recorded a net redemption of US$542.1 million, setting its worst weekly performance since January this year. The Solana Fund lost US$24.8 million, ending a previous 14 consecutive weeks of net inflows; the Bitcoin ETF lost a further US$681.1 million, ending three consecutive weeks of positive inflows. This synchronous reversal is particularly eye-catching because in the week ending September 25, the above three types of assets attracted more than US$3.2 billion in capital inflows, including US$2.4 billion for Bitcoin and US$689.9 million for Ethereum. Solana hit a record high of US$188.2 million in a single week.

How serious is the outflow of Ethereum ETF?

Since September 29, the Ethereum Fund has made net redemptions for nine consecutive trading days, with a cumulative withdrawal of approximately US$697.2 million. BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) took on most of the selling pressure. The fund lost $477 million last week, accounting for approximately 88% of the total redemption of the Ethereum ETF, and showed a net outflow on each trading day. The largest single redemption occurred on October 6, when $201.9 million was withdrawn from ETHA. It is worth noting that this is also the effective date for the fund to implement the one-share split and three-share reverse split. However, it needs to be clarified that this overlap in time should not be interpreted as a result of the split leading to redemption. According to BlackRock's regulatory filings, every three existing ETHA shares are consolidated into one share, designed to increase the net asset value per share, without changing the total value of the fund's assets or investors 'proportional ownership (except for cash due to fractional shares).

At the end of the week, the net assets of the Ethereum ETF fell to US$15.71 billion, a drop of about 10%. Cumulative net inflows since launch remain at US$13.26 billion, but inflows in 2026 have plunged sharply to US$931.8 million from approximately US$1.47 billion a week ago. The reversal was particularly dramatic because the Ethereum ETF attracted almost $690 million in inflows during the last full trading week of September.

Investor revelation: Outflows for nine consecutive trading days have made Ethereum the most obvious weak link in the current demand for cryptocurrency ETFs, and ETHA accounts for the vast majority of redemptions.

Why is Solana's reversal worth paying attention to?

尽管Solana的数据在金额上较小，但其趋势的断裂更为罕见。现货Solana ETF上周流失2480万美元，并在所有五个交易日均出现净流出，这是自2025年10月上市以来最长的每日赎回连跌记录。这也是该产品首次出现负值周，此前它曾保持过连续14周的净流入，超越了上市后13周的连胜纪录。

Bitwise的BSOL基金贡献了2090万美元的赎回额，约占当周总赎回额的84%。摩根士丹利的MSOL和Invesco的QSOL是唯二完成正流出的Solana基金，合计吸引约200万美元资金。这一转变仅发生在Solana ETF创下单周1.882亿美元纪录流入的两周之后。仅在9月25日当天，Solana ETF就录得了创纪录的8670万美元净流入。此后，其净资产已从19亿美元降至17.3亿美元，但该类别仍持有15.8亿美元的累计净流入，其中包括2026年的8.168亿美元。

比特币ETF在三周正流后流失6.81亿美元

Bitcoin funds generated the largest redemption in absolute terms, losing $681.1 million and ending three weeks of inflows. The single-day redemption amount on Wednesday reached $487.1 million. However, the situation improved by Friday, and the fund regained a modest net inflow of $21.1 million, suggesting that unlike Ethereum and Solana, the selling of Bitcoin is not ongoing. Bitcoin ETF's net assets remain much higher than other categories, reaching US$105.84 billion, and cumulative net inflows since its launch are US$57.11 billion. But net inflows in 2026 have dropped to $494.1 million from $1.18 billion a week ago. This means that this year's balance is facing downward pressure again after buying at the end of September just pushed the annual inflow of Bitcoin ETFs back into positive range.

Investor revelation: The simultaneous reversals of BTC, ETH and SOL point to broader de-riskization behavior, but concentrated redemptions in individual funds suggest that the sell-off is not evenly distributed.

Is institutional demand for cryptocurrencies turning again?

A single negative week will not erase the accumulated capital already held in cryptocurrency ETFs, but the speed of the reversal is crucial. There is less than three weeks between one of the strongest cross-asset ETF purchase periods in 2026 and the week when a joint redemption of $1.25 billion occurred. Ethereum is facing the most persistent pressure because its outflow has lasted for nine trading days. Solana is testing whether its unusually consistent ETF demand can restart in its first negative liquidity week after 14 consecutive positive liquidity weeks, while Bitcoin inflows on Friday provide early signals that its redemption cycle may have begun to ease.

As a result, the course of the next few trading days will reveal whether last week's performance was a brief lightening after strong inflows in September or the beginning of another sustained cycle of institutional divestment in the regulated crypto product sector.