Price breaks below $80,000 as U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs record $635M outflows

Bitcoin fell below $80,000 on May 14 after a sharp turn in U.S. spot exchange-traded fund flows added to pressure from this week’s hotter U.S. inflation data. Farside Investors’ daily tally showed U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $630.4 million of net outflows on May 13, led by BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. CoinGlass data showed more than $117 million of 24-hour Bitcoin liquidations as of May 15, with long positions accounting for about $102 million. SoSoValue’s tracker showed the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF complex still held about $101 billion of net assets on May 15. ### Which funds drove the May 13 withdrawals? BlackRock’s IBIT posted $284.7 million of net outflows on May 13, according to Farside’s table, the largest withdrawal among the U.S.-listed spot Bitcoin funds that day. Fidelity’s FBTC lost $133.2 million, ARK 21Shares’ ARKB lost $177.1 million, and Bitwise’s BITB lost $35.4 million. Grayscale’s GBTC was unchanged on the day in Farside’s tally. (farside.co.uk) Farside’s data showed the May 13 pullback followed a $233.2 million net outflow on May 12 and came after stronger inflow days earlier in May, including $629.8 million on May 1 and $532.3 million on May 4. The same table showed cumulative net inflows for the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF group at $58.676 billion through May 14. ### How large is the ETF market after the selloff? (farside.co.uk) SoSoValue listed BlackRock’s IBIT with $66.74 billion of net assets on May 15, Fidelity’s FBTC with $15.18 billion and Grayscale’s GBTC with $12.16 billion. The dashboard showed total net assets across the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF market at roughly $101 billion. (farside.co.uk) SoSoValue also showed May 14 brought a return to positive daily flows, with IBIT taking in $144.1 million and the group posting a net inflow of $131.3 million. That left the market with a one-day reversal after the larger May 13 redemption wave. ### What did this week’s inflation data show? The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said on May 12 that the consumer price index rose 0.6% in April on a seasonally adjusted basis after a 0.9% rise in March. (sosovalue.com) The 12-month increase accelerated to 3.8% from 3.3% in March, while core CPI rose 0.4% on the month and 2.8% from a year earlier. The Labor Department’s release schedule showed producer price index data followed on May 13. Traders in crypto and other risk assets often watch those reports for signals on inflation and interest-rate expectations, though that link is a market interpretation rather than a statement by the government data itself. ### How much leverage was forced out of the market? (bls.gov) CoinGlass showed $117.8 million of 24-hour Bitcoin liquidations as of May 15, with $102.8 million tied to long positions and $15 million to shorts. The same page said 7,754 traders had been liquidated worldwide over that period, and Binance accounted for about 35% of the total by venue. (bls.gov) CoinGlass’ broader liquidation pages indicate those figures update in real time, which means intraday totals can differ from numbers cited by traders on social media earlier in the week. The source page available on May 15 did not support the specific $411 million Bitcoin liquidation figure cited in the preliminary card materials. (coinglass.com) ### What comes next for traders watching the ETF complex? May 16 will bring the next full weekend trading session for Bitcoin, while the U.S. spot ETF market will next publish fund-flow changes after the next trading day. Farside updates its U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF table in U.S. evening hours, and SoSoValue posts daily fund asset and flow data by issuer, giving traders the next official read on whether the May 13 outflows were extended or reversed. (coinglass.com) (farside.co.uk)