Bitcoin ETF sees over $200 million in outflows over two weeks, analysts say institutional funds are not exiting.

ChainCatcher report: Bitcoin remained range-bound below $78,000 on Monday, following two consecutive weeks of outflows exceeding $1 billion from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, with last week’s net outflow reaching $1.26 billion. Although funds continue to exit BTC and ETH ETFs, multiple institutions view this as more of a “rotation” rather than a full-scale institutional withdrawal. Timothy Misir, Research Director at BRN, stated: “Institutional buying has not disappeared—it’s simply rotating.” Data shows that during the same period, XRP ETFs attracted $22 million in net inflows, Solana ETFs saw $16 million in inflows, and the newly launched Hyperliquid (HYPE) ETF drew approximately $72 million, while Ethereum ETFs experienced $216 million in outflows. Analysts note that recent market movements have been influenced by multiple factors, including the U.S.-Iran situation, the SEC’s delay of tokenized stock trading plans, and upcoming U.S. macroeconomic data releases, causing BTC and ETH to remain in a narrow trading range. Meanwhile, options markets indicate traders are still positioning for significant volatility. Among options expiring on May 29, the highest open interest is concentrated at the $75,000 put and $80,000 call strikes for Bitcoin. Institutional firm Laser Digital believes that if a U.S.-Iran agreement is reached, oil prices could decline sharply, potentially pushing U.S. equities to new highs and reigniting risk-on sentiment across assets. However, key disagreements remain unresolved, particularly regarding Iran’s nuclear program and control over the Strait of Hormuz.