Bitcoin Spot ETFs See $462.7M Weekly Outflows Ahead of Fed Decision

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds posted $462.7 million of net outflows over the past week, snapping a three-week run of strong inflows and marking their first weekly decline since mid-August. Flows were negative in each of the four sessions of the holiday-shortened week, according to SoSoValue. Net withdrawals totaled $46.7 million on Tuesday, the first trading day after Labor Day, then widened to $120.2 million on Wednesday and $282.6 million on Thursday before cooling to $13.3 million on Friday. The pullback is small relative to the prior surge in demand: investors added roughly $3.8 billion over the previous three weeks as Bitcoin briefly pushed above $80,000, providing steady buying support during August's breakout. Ecoinometrics, a Bitcoin-focused research platform, said the streak of negative sessions is still too short to confirm a durable reversal in ETF appetite. It warned that a prolonged run of outflows would make it harder for Bitcoin to hold above $75,000. The bigger issue, Ecoinometrics noted, is not the $462.7 million on its own but whether outflows persist. Spot ETFs have been a key source of marginal demand during Bitcoin's recovery; sustained redemptions would remove part of the bid that helped the asset settle into its latest trading range. Attention is now shifting to this week's Federal Reserve meeting, where the macro backdrop has turned less supportive. The Federal Open Market Committee meets Sept. 15–16 after hotter inflation data and rising Treasury yields reduced expectations for an easy policy outcome. US consumer prices rose 0.4% in August and 3.4% year over year, reinforcing the view that policymakers could still raise rates. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed toward 5% during the week before easing to about 4.93% on Friday. Higher yields challenge one of the narratives that has supported Bitcoin in 2026: the so-called debasement trade, which leans on demand for scarce assets as investors hedge persistent inflation, expanding government debt and eroding purchasing power. As interest rates rise, government bonds offer more attractive returns, increasing the opportunity cost of holding Bitcoin, which provides no yield. Ecoinometrics said the debasement argument can only counter tighter financial conditions for so long if rates keep moving higher. Bitcoin's late-week trading reflected that tension. The price slipped from around $77,000 toward $76,000, rebounded to roughly $79,800, then gave back much of the gain. With volatility elevated, $75,000 is emerging as a key line. Bitcoin cleared that level decisively in August as ETF inflows accelerated; the market may now need to defend it while flows run the other way. Even so, there is limited evidence that ETF investors are abandoning the rally. Last week's withdrawals represent only a small portion of the roughly $3.8 billion added in the preceding three weeks and may reflect risk reduction ahead of a major policy decision. The Fed is scheduled to announce its decision at 2 p.m. Eastern on Wednesday, followed by Chair Kevin Warsh's press conference 30 minutes later. ETF flow data immediately after the decision will be a key test. A return to inflows would suggest the four-day withdrawal streak was largely pre-Fed positioning. Continued redemptions alongside elevated Treasury yields would leave Bitcoin trying to defend its August breakout with materially less support from the buyers that helped fuel it.