Bitcoin ETF Outflows Hit $649 Million in a Single Day as Investors Rotate Into XRP and Solana
Spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds recorded $649 million in net outflows on May 18, their worst single-day figure since January 2026, according to CoinDesk. The weekly total for Bitcoin ETF redemptions approached $1 billion.
Ethereum ETF products posted a sixth consecutive day of outflows over the same period. XRP and Solana (SOL) fund products absorbed net inflows during the week, a divergence that suggests active portfolio rebalancing rather than a broad exit from the cryptocurrency asset class.
The Outflow Numbers in Detail
CoinShares, the digital asset manager that tracks weekly fund flow data, published figures showing that Bitcoin-focused listed products bore the largest share of redemptions.
The CoinDesk report placed total weekly Bitcoin fund outflows near $1 billion, with the May 18 single-day figure of $649 million representing the sharpest daily reading in roughly four months.
Ethereum funds extended their losing streak to six consecutive days of net outflows, compounding a difficult week for ETH that saw the token fall nearly 7% against a backdrop of macro caution and profit-taking. XRP products and Solana products both received positive weekly flows, making them the primary beneficiaries of the capital that rotated out of Bitcoin and Ethereum funds during the period.
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Background: How Spot ETFs Became the Benchmark
The U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, opening the door to institutional and retail investors who preferred regulated, brokerage-accessible products over direct cryptocurrency custody. In the months after approval, the products attracted billions in cumulative inflows, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust becoming one of the fastest-growing ETF launches in U.S. history.
Spot Ethereum ETFs received approval and launched in mid-2024, though they never matched Bitcoin ETFs in daily volume or inflow pace.
The weekly flow data published by CoinShares and tracked by outlets including CoinDesk has become a reliable sentiment barometer for the institutional cryptocurrency market. Large outflow weeks have historically preceded or coincided with price weakness.
The $649 million single-day figure on May 18 sits in a period when Bitcoin traded near $77,000, down from a range above $90,000 earlier in 2026. A prior stretch of Goldman Sachs ETF repositioning drew attention to how institutional managers are actively adjusting their crypto product exposure.
Why Capital Is Moving Toward XRP and Solana
The rotation into XRP and Solana products fits a pattern visible across multiple weeks in 2026.
Investors who remain constructive on cryptocurrency but want to reduce exposure to Bitcoin’s near-term price risk have a growing menu of listed fund alternatives. XRP products have benefited from continued legal clarity following the end of the SEC’s multi-year enforcement case against Ripple.
Solana products have attracted allocations tied to the network’s high transaction throughput and its dominant position in the memecoin and decentralized exchange trading ecosystem.
The rotation does not necessarily signal a bearish view on Bitcoin itself. Fund outflows from ETFs can reflect tax-loss harvesting, rebalancing against fixed-weight portfolios, or short-term tactical positioning.
None of those motivations require the underlying investor to be negative on the long-term Bitcoin thesis. The more meaningful signal is that XRP and Solana are now liquid enough in their listed-product form to absorb meaningful institutional reallocation, a structural shift from 2024 when Bitcoin ETFs had no real competition within the regulated product universe.
What Comes Next
The next key data point is the weekly CoinShares report covering the full week ending May 23.
A second consecutive week of near-$1 billion Bitcoin ETF outflows would strengthen the case that the rotation is a trend rather than a single-week anomaly. Bitcoin’s price behavior near $77,000 will also matter: a sustained hold above that level would reduce the urgency for institutional managers to cut exposure, while a break below $75,000 could accelerate redemption pressure.
The Ethereum ETF streak, if extended to a seventh or eighth consecutive outflow day, would become the longest in the product’s trading history.
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