Bitcoin Struggles Near US$80K as AI Sell-Off Hits Markets and ETFs Lose US$636 Million

Spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in the US in January 2024 gave traditional investors direct exposure to Bitcoin through vehicles like BlackRock's IBIT, which has since become the dominant fund by assets. These products trade alongside equities, meaning their flows move within the same daily rhythm as Nasdaq-listed stocks. Three straight days of inflows this month had been read as a sign of renewed institutional appetite before Thursday's reversal.

ETF holders who bought into the recent inflow streak now sit on a fund whose net asset value fell alongside Bitcoin's drop to $80,958. BlackRock's IBIT alone saw $254.1 million leave on Thursday, forcing authorized participants to redeem shares and sell underlying Bitcoin, which pressures the price further. Traders watching the $635 million outflow figure must now decide whether to treat the three-day inflow run as the anomaly rather than the outflows.

A fund built to let investors hold Bitcoin without touching a wallet also ties its price action to equity-market jitters over AI spending and oil prices, as Thursday's 2.6% Nasdaq decline showed. That correlation sits awkwardly with the case long made for Bitcoin as an asset that moves independently of stocks. Whether ETF flows are now just another lever pulling Bitcoin into sync with tech-sector sentiment, rather than insulating it, is a fair question raised by this episode.

October's US spot Bitcoin ETF tally stands at $175 million in net outflows after Thursday's reversal erased the prior gains. The next daily flow reports will show whether this is a single AI-driven equity shock or the start of a sustained pullback, while traders are watching $80,000 as the support level that determines if the $80,958 low holds or gives way.