U.S. crypto exchange-traded funds bled roughly $1.65 billion in the first week of November, with spot Bitcoin vehicles accounting for $1.28 billion and Ether funds shedding $365.2 million, according to data compiled by Farside Investors. The retreat deepened Friday, when Bitcoin ETFs lost more than $411 million in a single session, and it has coincided with a sharp drop in the Crypto Fear and Greed Index to 32, a reading that signals fear.
The selling accelerated after Democrats swept both chambers of Congress in last week's midterm elections, a result that investors are still digesting. Senator Elizabeth Warren, one of the industry's most vocal skeptics, is expected to chair the Senate Banking Committee, and the odds that the Senate will pass the CLARITY Act have faded. That bill would have shifted a substantial share of digital-asset oversight from the Securities and Exchange Commission to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
A Democratic majority is also expected to press for more scrutiny of the Trump administration's financial regulators, including the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's decision to grant World Liberty Finance a provisional bank charter.
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) absorbed the brunt of the damage, posting a $1.21 billion net outflow over the five trading days from Nov. 2 to Nov. 6, its largest weekly redemption on record. Money left the fund every day that week, with the heaviest withdrawals on Monday ($405.3 million) and Friday ($403 million). Wednesday brought a brief reprieve for the broader Bitcoin ETF complex, which pulled in $74.6 million overall even as IBIT itself lost $201.2 million.
Fidelity's FBTC was a rare bright spot for the week, finishing with $93.1 million in net inflows on the strength of a $236.7 million influx on Wednesday, though a $199.9 million outflow the next day erased much of the gain. Bitwise's BITB added $16.6 million, while ARK 21Shares' ARKB ended the week down $19.1 million and Grayscale's GBTC lost $61 million.
Ether funds followed a similar arc. BlackRock's ETHA recorded the category's largest withdrawal at $345.9 million, and its sister product ETHB lost $47.9 million. Fidelity's FETH was the exception, drawing $15.3 million in net inflows, largely thanks to a $19.2 million pickup on Wednesday. Ether products opened the week with $139.7 million and $85.3 million in outflows on Monday and Tuesday, drew a modest $53 million on Wednesday, then gave back $99.9 million on Thursday and $93.3 million on Friday.
Solana ETFs have shed more than $26 million so far in November, following a $143 million outflow in October.
Note: Figures reflect net flows in millions of dollars unless otherwise stated.
The five-day Bitcoin outflow was roughly six times the $202.4 million recorded in the prior Oct. 26-30 period, while Ether fund outflows narrowed from $431.4 million to $365.2 million week over week. Since their launches, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have attracted about $55.77 billion in cumulative inflows, compared with roughly $11.95 billion for spot Ether funds.
Macro conditions have added to the pressure. The Federal Reserve held rates steady at its last meeting, with two officials dissenting in favor of a hike, and after last Friday's strong jobs report traders are now pricing a quarter-point increase at the December meeting. Higher borrowing costs have historically weighed on speculative assets, and crypto has traded in a subdued range through the outflow stretch.
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index peaked at 81, deep in greed territory, when Bitcoin and most altcoins were riding high. It now sits at 32. The gauge has tended to move in the same direction as crypto prices, and its slide alongside the ETF redemptions suggests investors are reducing risk rather than adding to it.
For the industry, the combination of record redemptions at the largest Bitcoin fund and a hostile legislative calendar in Washington marks a reversal from the momentum that carried crypto ETFs through their launch period. The CLARITY Act's stalled path removes a near-term catalyst that institutional allocators had been watching, and the prospect of Senate hearings into crypto-friendly regulatory decisions introduces a new layer of political uncertainty. Whether the outflows persist may hinge on the December Fed decision and on how aggressively the incoming committee leadership pursues the industry.
