Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana ETFs All Saw Outflows on the Last Day of the Quarter. What Happened?

Billions poured into Bitcoin funds throughout September, then something shifted on the very last trading day of the quarter. The answer reveals a hidden pattern that repeats every three months across crypto markets.

By Sam Daodu
Published October 3, 2026, 12:35pm ET · 3 min read

The ETF Examiner desk. Editor: Ryne Mauck.

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A close-up shot of a golden Bitcoin cryptocurrency coin resting on a red digital screen displaying a financial chart. A large red arrow points downwards, and white candlestick patterns indicate a market decline. A white line graph also appears at the bottom right, with glowing red background lights.
A golden Bitcoin coin sits on a red financial chart, visually representing the significant outflows experienced by Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana ETFs on September 30, 2026. © FellowNeko / Shutterstock.com

On September 30, 2026, the final trading day of the third quarter, investors withdrew $148.7 million from U.S. spot Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) funds, according to SoSoValue data. Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) funds saw outflows of $59.6 million, while Solana (CRYPTO: SOL) funds lost $11.1 million on the same day.

This marked an abrupt end to a nine-day trend of inflows into Bitcoin funds, which had brought in about $3.1 billion. Interestingly, XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) funds saw no change, with net inflows recorded at zero. So, did investors lose faith in crypto as the quarter wrapped up, or was it a seasonal adjustment?

One Fidelity Fund Accounted for Most of the Bitcoin ETF Outflow

Three prominent cryptocurrency coins—a silver XRP, a gold Bitcoin, and a gold Ethereum—are arranged vertically on three light brown wooden blocks. The blocks display black lowercase letters 'e', 't', and 'f' respectively, forming the abbreviation 'ETF'. The background is softly blurred with green and white bokeh, suggesting an outdoor or brightly lit indoor setting.

K.unshu / Shutterstock.com

When we break down the Bitcoin outflows, the picture changes. The Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (CBOE: FBTC) alone accounted for $125.6 million of the outflows, representing about 84% of the total. Other Bitcoin funds lost roughly $23 million combined.

These funds had a strong month overall. In September, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs collected around $2.7 billion, with an impressive $2.4 billion coming in just one week leading up to September 25.

Despite the outflows, total assets for these funds still rose to about $108 billion that day, largely because the Bitcoin they held gained value, driven by market prices rather than cash inflows and outflows.

Quarter-End Rebalancing Likely Drove the Crypto ETF Outflows

A close-up shot showing a golden Bitcoin coin, a US 100-dollar bill featuring Benjamin Franklin, and three white circular tiles with the letters 'E', 'T', and 'F' arranged horizontally. These items are placed on a red and white striped American flag with a blue field of white stars in the upper left.

MyBears / Shutterstock.com

Many institutional investors, including pension funds and financial advisors, maintain fixed allocations across asset classes. At the end of each quarter, they often readjust their holdings to keep their portfolios balanced. This means they sell off assets that have grown too large and add to those that haven’t performed as well.

As the last quarter closed, Bitcoin rose about 36%, Ethereum gained about 57%, and Solana grew around 48%. Managers holding these assets likely trimmed their crypto positions, not necessarily out of negativity, but to maintain target allocations as the new quarter began.

Similar patterns emerged at the end of the previous quarter; on June 30, 2026, Bitcoin funds saw outflows of $222.6 million, an even larger figure than on September 30. These two quarter-end comparisons suggest a consistent trend, though we’ll need to watch through December 31 for confirmation.

Bitcoin ETFs Bounced Back on October 1 While Ethereum ETFs Kept Losing Money

A silver Bitcoin coin stands upright on the left side of a light wooden balance scale. On the right side, there are three small stacks of traditional round coins, some gold-colored and some silver-colored. The scale itself is a light wooden beam supported by a smaller wooden cylinder at its center, against a plain light blue-grey background.

PLCNSK / Shutterstock.com

On the first trading day of the new quarter, October 1, the market split. Bitcoin funds welcomed back $102.7 million, primarily driven by $196 million flowing into BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. XRP funds also posted a small gain, adding $4.1 million.

Conversely, Ethereum funds lost an additional $55.4 million, marking their third consecutive day of outflows. Solana funds followed suit, losing $5.9 million. These figures may vary slightly by source, as different trackers can report different totals.

This suggests investors are reallocating funds, favoring Bitcoin and XRP while trimming investments in Ethereum and Solana. This behavior suggests a rotation between cryptocurrencies rather than a general exit from the market.

What Drove the Crypto ETF Outflows on the Last Day of the Quarter?

The primary drivers of the September 30 outflows were likely quarter-end rebalancing and a substantial withdrawal from one major Fidelity fund, not a loss of confidence in crypto itself. Bitcoin funds rebounded quickly on October 1, and their total assets remained solid even on the outflow day.

However, Ethereum’s ongoing struggles raise questions; if outflows from Ethereum continue into October, we may be seeing a shift in investor sentiment rather than a simple seasonal adjustment.

Contact [email protected] for any questions or corrections.

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Sam Daodu

Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing

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