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Bitcoin spot ETFs have now recorded net outflows in 17 of the last 19 days, with investors pulling a combined $5.6 billion from the products during that stretch.
Taking Stock Of The Damage
The numbers have pushed year-to-date flows for US-traded Bitcoin ETFs into negative territory, landing at negative $2.17 billion. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart put the 13-day outflow streak in sharper relief, reporting that roughly $4.4 billion worth of Bitcoin was sold through those products over the past month alone.
Since May 14, Bitcoin has fallen about 20%, dropping from $82,040 to around $64,000. The slide accelerated after Strategy, the business intelligence firm led by executive chairman Michael Saylor, disclosed it had sold 32 BTC for approximately $2.5 million — a small fraction of its total holdings, but enough to rattle sentiment across the broader market.
Capital markets are funding the AI buildout at historic scale: ~$400B over 6 months. Bitcoin ETFs have seen ~$4B of outflows since May 14, pressuring $BTC. This is a capital rotation, not a Bitcoin impairment. Volatility creates opportunity.
— Michael Saylor (@saylor) June 4, 2026
Saylor Points To AI Spending As The Culprit
Saylor took to X on Thursday to offer his explanation for the drop. Capital markets are funding artificial intelligence infrastructure at what he described as a historic scale, drawing money away from Bitcoin and other assets in the process.
According to Saylor, more than $400 billion has been directed into AI-related investments over the past six months, with major Wall Street institutions joining the push. That flood of capital, he argued, is behind the outflows hitting Bitcoin ETFs — not any fundamental weakness in Bitcoin itself.
He framed the pullback as a buying window. “Volatility creates opportunity,” Saylor said.
Silver Linings Remain
Not every fund has been caught in the tide. The BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust and Grayscale’s Mini Bitcoin Trust have both held onto positive flows since January 1, reports indicate.
Across all US-traded Bitcoin spot ETFs, the cumulative lifetime net inflow still stands at roughly $54 billion — a figure that reflects sustained demand since the products launched just over two years ago.
The overall picture is one of short-term stress against a backdrop of longer-term capital commitment. Whether the AI spending wave continues to crowd out Bitcoin investment, or whether the two can attract separate pools of money, remains an open question.
Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView
