Bitcoin exchange-traded funds experienced their largest single-day outflow in 105 days, with investors withdrawing $635 million on Wednesday as reported by CoinDesk. This represents the worst day since mid-February, marking a significant shift in institutional sentiment. Over the past five trading days, the 11 U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETFs have bled $1.26 billion, bringing total net inflows since their January 2024 debut down to $58.5 billion from $59.76 billion a week ago. These funds had previously attracted $3.29 billion in investor money through March and April, making the current outflow particularly significant for market sentiment. According to The Block, BlackRock's IBIT led the losses with $284.7 million in net outflows, followed by Fidelity's FBTC with $133.22 million and Ark 21Shares' ARKB posting $177.10 million in withdrawals. Bitwise's BITB recorded another $35.40 million in outflows, while none of the remaining Bitcoin ETFs registered positive flows on the day.
Jane Street, the world's most profitable quantitative and high-frequency trading firm, has dumped Bitcoin in favor of Ethereum, according to the latest 13F filing with the SEC. The trading giant slashed its exposure to BlackRock Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) by 71% in Q1, similarly divesting 60% and 86% of its holdings in Fidelity's and Grayscale's BTC products. In other words, it closed over three-quarters of its overall BTC ETF exposure. The firm also retreated from Strategy's MSTR, with holdings dropping from 968K shares in Q4 2025 to 210K shares in Q1 2026. In contrast, Jane Street nearly doubled its ETH exposure to $82 million via BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust and Fidelity fund (FETH). Jeff Park, Bitwise advisor, commented that Jane Street slashed its Bitcoin exposure in Q1 2026, cutting IBIT by ~71% and FBTC by ~60%, implying that he expects the BTC price to hit a new all-time high now that the firm has significantly reduced exposure.
The Bank of England is reconsidering parts of its proposed stablecoin framework following industry criticism that the rules could hurt the UK's competitiveness in digital finance, according to a Financial Times report published on 13 May. The central bank is reviewing proposed limits on stablecoin holdings and reserve requirements after feedback from industry participants who argued that the framework risked becoming overly restrictive. Among the measures under review is a proposed temporary cap limiting individuals to holding up to £20,000 of specific stablecoins, while the Bank is also reconsidering plans requiring stablecoin issuers to keep at least 40% of reserve assets deposited at the central bank without earning interest. Deputy Governor for Financial Stability Sarah Breeden indicated that the Bank is actively reassessing aspects of its earlier proposals, acknowledging that parts of the implementation framework may have created operational difficulties. Industry participants had argued that the proposed measures could make issuing stablecoins less economically attractive compared with frameworks emerging elsewhere.
The Bank of Japan's reinforced rate-hiking stance triggered a global risk-off move that cascaded into over $500 million in crypto liquidations, as reported by CoinDesk. The mechanism involved the BOJ strengthening the yen and forcing institutional desks holding yen-funded risk positions to reduce exposure to high-bitcoin price dropped more than 2% in 24 hours to $79,400, stalling a rally that had carried prices from $65,000 to above $80,000 over recent weeks. The 200-day simple moving average positioned just above $82,000 had already created technical resistance, and when macro-driven selling pressure arrived at that level, leveraged long positions had nowhere to go. Crypto, sitting at the far end of the risk spectrum, absorbed a disproportionate share of that deleveraging. Exchange data points to Binance and OKX as the primary venues for the bulk of the $500 million in long liquidations.
The $630 million outflow on Wednesday represents institutional profit-taking after Bitcoin's historic rally from $65,000 to over $80,000, as noted by 99Bitcoin. Following Bitcoin's rise from $65,000 to over $80,000, institutional profit-taking was expected and necessary due to mandates and risk limits. The $630 million that left the market on Wednesdays represented realized gains being recycled back into Bitcoin at lower prices. Adam Haeems from Tesseract Group emphasized considering whether macro conditions remain supportive for Bitcoin's next leg rather than if institutions are leaving. Currently, Bitcoin is stalling just below its 200-day moving average at around $82,000, needing sustained buying pressure to move higher. Without favorable macro signals, the price may consolidate. Notably, the Nasdaq and S&P 500 reached new highs on the same day Bitcoin dropped, indicating the decline is Bitcoin-specific and driven by profit-taking rather than a broader market sell-off.
