Summer of redemptions that put Bitcoin ETFs in the red
Damage was done earlier on. The period in June 2026 saw an estimated $4.5 billion in redemptions. Even May was already seeing losses, and in combination, the two months made up for the accumulated loss from which August and September have seen gradual erosion. The same thing under the headline Bitcoin ETFs still $1 billion away from breaking even in 2026, but this particular piece was not accessible via a bot verification screen at the time of writing.
This is the narrative of a fund line that sells itself on consistent demand from institutions, having gone underwater for a whole year.
Why are the funds still deep in profit since launch
Going beyond just the current year, the picture changes quite dramatically. Cumulative net inflows over the time frame from when the funds were listed on January 11, 2024, to date amount to around $55.6 billion, accounting for $101.3 billion in AUM for the category, shows Sosovalue data.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is still the largest fund in the category and the mainstay of the group, with Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) described as having spurred the current rally. Other names are ARK 21Shares and Bitwise products, while the Grayscale GBTC continues to lose assets, following the same pattern that it experienced after it transitioned from being a closed-end trust.
The important question now is what happens next. A few more weeks like the ones through September 5 would turn the 2026 numbers into a positive figure; a repeat of June’s outflows would undo the progress.
