Crypto Outflows Hit $508 Million as Bitcoin Bleeds, Altcoins Surge

Crypto outflows reached $508 million last week, marking the second series of negative flows in 2025. This brings the last two weeks of outflows to $925 million.

The outflows point to a shift in sentiment following an 18-week rally that accumulated $29 billion as investors weigh the impact of the US economic events and uncertainty surrounding trade tariffs, inflation, and monetary policy.

Bitcoin Takes the Biggest Hit While Altcoins Rally

The latest CoinShares report indicates that Bitcoin (BTC) bore the brunt of investor caution, seeing outflows of $571 million. Further, some traders opted to increase short positions, leading to $2.8 million in inflows for short-Bitcoin products.

This follows a similar trend from the previous week, when hawkish rhetoric from the Federal Reserve and CPI data contributed to the first crypto outflows of 2025. According to CoinShares, the latest stream of outflows comes amid heightened caution as investors continue to digest US economic data.

“We believe investors are exercising caution following the US Presidential inauguration and the consequent uncertainty around Trump’s trade tariffs, inflation, and monetary policy. This is also evident in trading turnover, which has fallen considerably from $22 billion 2 weeks ago to $13 billion last week,” an excerpt in the report read.

Regionally, the US accounted for most of the outflows, losing $560 million, accentuating concerns about the country’s economic policies.

Interestingly, however, while Bitcoin struggled, altcoins continued to see positive momentum. XRP led the way with $38.3 million in inflows, bringing its total since mid-November 2025 to $819 million.

XRP’s strong performance comes amid increasing anticipation of a US SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) decision on an XRP ETF. The deadline for the SEC to approve or reject certain ETF applications has begun. Investors remain hopeful that XRP will gain regulatory clarity.

If approved, an XRP ETF could drive further institutional investment, reinforcing the altcoin’s resilience amid broader market uncertainty. However, XRP’s surge reflects increasing investor optimism that the US SEC may drop its lawsuit against Ripple.

Recent developments, including the SEC’s acknowledgment of Bitwise’s XRP ETF application and the launch of an XRP ETF in Brazil via Hashdex, fuel speculation further.

Other altcoins also saw inflows, with Solana attracting $9 million, Ethereum gaining $3.7 million, and Sui receiving $1.5 million. This suggests a potential shift in investor focus from Bitcoin’s digital gold narrative towards altcoins with stronger technical fundamentals and growth potential.

Meanwhile,this skittish market sentiment could be further influenced by upcoming US economic data this week. As BeInCrypto reported, Thursday’s GDP and Friday’s PCE inflation data could provide key insights into Federal Reserve policy direction.

As Bitcoin’s sensitivity to macroeconomic uncertainty amplifies, undesirable reports later in the week could exacerbate selling pressure. Altcoins appear to be benefiting from speculative interest and potential diversification plays.

The divergence in investor sentiment between Bitcoin and altcoins suggests a potential shift in market structure, with some analysts already visualizing an altcoin season.