Institutional Investors Offload Bitcoin ETF Shares Amid Market Downturn

Institutional investors sold Bitcoin ETF shares equivalent to 25,098 BTC amid market downturn.

In the fourth quarter, major investors sold exchange-traded fund shares based on the leading cryptocurrency, amounting to the equivalent of 25,098 BTC. This data was provided by Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart.

What did 13F filers do with the Bitcoin ETFs in Q4??

In what should not be much of a surprise — they were sellers. Advisors and Hedge Funds (the two largest holder categories) were the biggest sellers. Overall 13F Filers sold ETF shares equivalent to ~25,000 Bitcoin in 4Q 2025. pic.twitter.com/0MEbzXVDb1

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) February 24, 2026

The primary sellers were hedge funds and investment advisors. Brevan Howard was the most active in reducing positions, liquidating shares worth over 17,000 BTC.

The asset sell-off occurred amid a market correction, when Bitcoin’s price plummeted from a historic high above $120,000 to below $63,000.

Despite the mass sell-off at the end of last year, on February 24, the net inflow into spot Bitcoin ETFs was $257.71 million. The FBTC fund by Fidelity attracted the most funds, totaling $82.8 million.

Coinbase Premium

An analyst under the pseudonym nino considers the behavior of the Coinbase premium the main reason for the recent decline in digital gold prices.

Coinbase Premium SMA-30 Rejection Above Zero Emerges as Potential Trigger for Bitcoin Slide

“This lack of sustained recovery in the premium, despite the temporary uptick, is considered a potential trigger for the recent downward price action.” – By @nino_trade pic.twitter.com/LtM9EpQ9ro

— CryptoQuant.com (@cryptoquant_com) February 24, 2026

The expert noted that the SMA-30 index briefly exceeded the zero mark but failed to remain “in the black” as the new week began.

Earlier in February, Strategy invested $39.8 million in the leading cryptocurrency.