Bitcoin (BTC) encountered net outflows totaling $243 million from exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Tuesday, coinciding with a price slide to approximately $92,000. This movement concluded a robust opening streak for 2026, where ETFs had accumulated $1.16 billion in inflows over two consecutive days.
Data sourced from SoSoValue reveals that U.S.-based spot Bitcoin ETFs reversed momentum on Tuesday, moving into negative territory with fund redemptions. Fidelity Investments’ Bitcoin fund (NASDAQ:FBTC) was the primary contributor to these outflows, seeing withdrawals of $312.24 million. Similarly, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:GBTC) experienced redemptions totaling $83.07 million, while its smaller Mini Trust lost $32.73 million in assets.
Other ETFs, such as Ark & 21Shares' ARKB (NASDAQ:ARKB) and VanEck’s HODL (NASDAQ:HODL), were also affected by net outflows on the same day. These movements indicate a notable shift among some institutional investors away from Bitcoin-backed ETFs.
Contrasting this trend was BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (NASDAQ:IBIT), which stood out as the only ETF to register inflows amidst the market pullback. The fund attracted $228.66 million on Tuesday alone, bringing its cumulative net inflows to $888 million over the opening three trading sessions of 2026.
Market analysts interpret these ETF flows not as signs of liquidation but as part of routine adjustments. Vincent Liu, Chief Investment Officer at Kronos Research, interprets the outflows as normalization following heavy prior inflows rather than indications of risk aversion. He suggests that institutions are recalibrating their allocation to Bitcoin without abandoning their overall conviction about the asset.
Supporting this perspective, Nick Ruck, director at LVRG Research, characterizes the outflows as typical profit-taking and portfolio rebalancing following a period of rapid gains.
Further influencing Bitcoin sentiment was the activity of World Liberty Financial (WLFI), associated with the Trump family's decentralized finance (DeFi) initiative. On January 7, the project divested roughly $2.5 million in wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) and redeployed the proceeds to acquire about 770 Ethereum (ETH). This shift represents a strategic allocation favoring Ethereum’s relative strength rather than a generalized withdrawal from digital assets, but it pressed downward pressure on Bitcoin sentiment.
Despite the outflows from Fidelity and Grayscale’s Ethereum funds, spot Ethereum ETFs collectively attracted $114.7 million in fresh investments on Tuesday. Additionally, ETFs tracking XRP and Solana registered positive flows of $19 million and $9 million respectively.
Jeff Mei, Chief Operating Officer at BTSE, highlights these allocations as a rotation towards altcoins like XRP and Solana. He reasons their prior all-time high valuations may suggest greater upside potential relative to Bitcoin at current levels.
On the technical analysis front, Bitcoin’s recent rally gained roughly 14% from its base but faltered near the $94,000-$95,000 resistance zone, leading to a retracement testing the 0.382 Fibonacci support level around $90,868. The asset’s Supertrend indicator has flipped to resistance near $95,121, which marks a negative shift after months of serving as support.
This failure to sustain levels near $95,000 amid early January’s price surge is regarded as a bull trap by some analysts. For Bitcoin to regain bullish momentum, it must reclaim the 0.5 Fibonacci retracement at $94,007 to stabilize price action. Subsequent upside targets include the 0.618 Fibonacci level at $97,227 and the $101,700 mark. A decisive break above $107,119 would invalidate the current bearish outlook.
On the downside, key support thresholds to monitor are the 0.382 Fibonacci level of $90,868, followed by $86,934 and the stop and reverse (SAR) at $86,093. Breaking below $86,000 could expose Bitcoin to a wedge breakdown with a target near $80,576.
At market close, Bitcoin was priced near $91,938, representing a 1.87% decline for the day. Other notable crypto prices include Ethereum at $3,211.73 (-2.54%), Solana at $137.73 (-2.32%), and Wrapped Bitcoin trading near $91,531.30 (-1.72%).
ETF performance reflected these movements with ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB) at $30.54 (-0.55%), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) at $80.17 (-0.47%), Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) at $71.80 (-0.55%), and VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL) data unavailable. BlackRock Inc. (BLK) shares remained virtually unchanged around $1111.97 (-0.03%), and the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) traded at $52.16 (-0.55%).