Bitcoin, Ether ETFs Deepen Losses as Weekly Selling Peaks

The week did not end quietly. Instead, it closed with conviction, and not the kind bulls would have hoped for.

Bitcoin ETFs recorded a steep $225.48 million in net outflows, marking one of the largest single-day withdrawals of the week. The selling was concentrated, but decisive. Blackrock’s IBIT accounted for the overwhelming majority, shedding $201.53 million alone. Bitwise’s BITB followed with $18.60 million in outflows, while Ark & 21Shares’ ARKB posted a smaller $5.35 million exit.

There were no inflows to soften the blow. Trading activity remained robust at $3.39 billion, yet net assets fell sharply to $84.77 billion, underscoring the weight of sustained redemptions.

Ether ETFs extended their losing streak to eight consecutive days, with total outflows reaching $48.54 million. Once again, Blackrock’s ETHA led the decline, posting a $70.80 million withdrawal. Fidelity’s FETH followed with $8.92 million in outflows, while Grayscale’s Ether Mini Trust lost $8.68 million.

Still, one fund continued to defy the trend. Blackrock’s ETHB attracted $39.86 million in inflows, reinforcing its growing appeal among investors. Its staking component appears to be drawing attention, even as broader sentiment around ether remains weak. Trading volume stood at $1.16 billion, with net assets closing at $11.52 billion.

Elsewhere, the picture was quieter but no less telling. XRP ETFs saw no trading activity, with net assets slipping to $933.33 million. Solana ETFs faced heavier pressure, recording a $7.84 million outflow entirely from Bitwise’s BSOL. Trading volume reached $45.21 million, while net assets declined to $809.62 million.

The pattern is hard to ignore. Capital is leaving the space at a steady pace, particularly from flagship bitcoin and ether products. Even isolated inflows are no longer enough to change the broader direction.

In summary, Friday capped a difficult stretch for crypto ETFs. Bitcoin led with a sharp outflow, ether extended its losing streak despite selective interest, solana weakened further, and XRP remained sidelined. The market closes the week on uncertain footing, with sentiment clearly under strain.

FAQ 📊

• Why did Bitcoin ETFs see such a large outflow on Friday?
  The sharp outflow was largely driven by a significant withdrawal from Blackrock’s IBIT, reflecting continued institutional selling pressure.
• What is causing Ether ETFs’ extended outflow streak?
  Ether ETFs are experiencing persistent redemptions, mainly from Blackrock’s ETHA, indicating weaker investor confidence than bitcoin’s.
• Why is Blackrock’s ETHB still attracting inflows?
  ETHB’s staking feature is likely appealing to investors seeking yield, making it stand out even during broader market outflows.
• What does continued inactivity in XRP ETFs suggest?
  It indicates limited investor engagement and a wait-and-see approach, with capital focusing elsewhere in the crypto ETF market.

By now, cryptocurrency investors should be familiar with the cyclical nature of the industry and its repeating pattern of booms and busts. With prices down by an eye-popping 43% over the last 12 months, XRP (XRP 0.71%) is on a downtrend that has erased much of the gains it enjoyed during Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign in late 2024.

That said, long-term ownership is the key to sustainable returns in financial markets because it helps investors ignore the short-term volatility and gives time for an asset’s fundamentals to shine through. Let’s discuss what the next 10 years might have in store for XRP as it attempts to regain the market’s attention and break into mainstream finance.

Rethinking the cryptocurrency market

Unlike stocks or bonds, cryptocurrencies are not tied to profit-generating real-world businesses, which makes them impossible to value based on traditional metrics like earnings. And while it is hard to pin down the exact factors that move the digital currency market, they don’t seem to perform as reliable safe-haven assets, contrary to earlier assumptions.

Safe havens are expected to maintain or increase in value during times of economic and geopolitical turmoil — such as Trump’s erratic trade policy and the war in Iran. But the cryptocurrency market hasn’t performed particularly well since the crisis started (much like stocks). And over the long term, investors should probably focus on the factors that drive risk asset prices, such as interest rates and institutional adoption.

Lower rates make borrowing easier, which increases the amount of cash in the economy and makes people more willing to take risks — benefiting the crypto demand. Meanwhile, attracting institutional adoption will be XRP’s key to standing out from the thousands of other options.

XRP’s push into mainstream finance

XRP is unique because of the visibility of its development team, Ripple Labs. While other major cryptocurrency developers tend to keep a lower profile (Bitcoin‘s creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, is famously anonymous), Ripple Labs is seemingly glad to make headlines.

Recently, these included winning a partial victory in an SEC lawsuit that sought to regulate its previous token sales under securities law. The settlement resulted in a $50 million fine, but Ripple’s token sales to retail investors weren’t classified as securities sales. Ripple is also working hard to break into mainstream finance. And in December, it earned preliminary conditional approval to create Ripple National Trust Bank, which will allow it to operate as a federally regulated financial institution in the U.S.

Image source: Getty Images.

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There are several benefits to this strategy. For starters, it gives Ripple Labs (and its associated tokens like XRP) a higher level of trust and legitimacy, which is crucial in an industry known for controversy. Furthermore, it makes it easier for the developer to support and develop additional assets like the stablecoin Ripple USD.

While Ripple USD is a separate asset from XRP, they share the same blockchain ledger. Furthermore, Ripple USD transaction fees are paid in XRP, boosting network activity and potentially reducing the XRP supply because a small percentage of all transactions made on the network are removed from circulation through a process called burning.

Where will XRP be in 10 years?

XRP’s developers will have immense influence over the trajectory of the asset over the next 10 years and beyond. And so far, their influence looks like a good thing after a series of regulatory wins that can help increase demand for the asset and boost its legitimacy. Positive macroeconomic trends like falling Federal Reserve interest rates could also eventually help the cryptocurrency industry as a whole.

The recent dip in XRP prices looks like a long-term buying opportunity. That said, the market is clearly in a downtrend. And no one wants to accidentally catch a falling knife, so it might make sense to wait for some signs that sentiment is improving before considering a position.

Kalshi Margin Trading Approved

The NFA filing lists Kinetic Markets as both an FCM and swap firm. Bloomberg was the first to report on the NFA filing. Kalshi Inc. holds a 10% or greater financial interest in the entity. Co-founders Tarek Mansour and Luana Lopes Lara are named as indirect owners, with Lior Samuel Hirschfeld serving as CEO of Kinetic, Sam Rosner as CFO, and Joshua Andrew Beardsley as chief compliance officer.

Until now, Kalshi operated on a fully collateralized model, requiring traders to post 100% of a contract’s value before entering a position. Margin trading changes that. Participants will be able to hold positions by posting only a fraction of the total value as collateral, freeing up capital for other use.

Mansour told attendees at a recent Kalshi Research conference that margin access will open to institutional investors first, hedge funds, prop desks, and similar firms, before any retail rollout is considered. No firm launch date has been announced.

The FCM approval connects directly to Kalshi’s existing status as a CFTC-designated contract market for event contracts, one of the first exchanges to hold that designation. The company filed for FCM registration in late 2025, and the NFA confirmed the approval this week.

Kalshi’s push into institutional access has been building for months. In early February 2026, the company was reported to be seeking CFTC approval specifically to attract capital from professional trading operations. The FCM registration gives those firms the leverage framework they need to participate at scale.

The report notes that recent partnership announcements reflect the same direction. Kalshi signed a clearing and infrastructure deal with Fidelity Information Services, announced a data integration with Ark Invest on March 26, 2026, and completed an earlier integration with Tradeweb in 2026.

Monthly trading volumes on the platform have exceeded $10 billion in recent periods. The company’s valuation stands at roughly $22 billion. Kalshi currently offers contracts on politics, sports, crypto prices, weather outcomes, and other real-world events.

Founded in 2020, Kalshi spent years in regulatory proceedings before the CFTC approved it as the first dedicated event contract exchange. The platform has also faced state-level legal challenges in Tennessee and Nevada over sports betting jurisdiction, but federal courts have sided with CFTC oversight of the contracts.

Onlookers on social media described the FCM registration as a “major hurdle” for Kalshi. Alongside this, it will benefit institutional participants who want short exposure to event-driven outcomes, positions that were difficult to construct efficiently under the old collateral structure.

“Solving for the Ouroborus of Margin & Jump Risk is how you get adoption by players who have to deploy at a large notiona amount,” one person wrote on X.

How quickly institutional adoption follows will depend on how Kalshi structures margin requirements and which contracts it makes eligible. The company has indicated the feature may not apply to all event contracts at launch.

Kinetic Markets is currently listed as an inactive NFA member, meaning it is not independently conducting commodity interest business. Its primary function is to support Kalshi’s expanded trading infrastructure. Further details on the rollout timeline are expected in the coming weeks.

FAQ 🔎

• What is Kinetic Markets LLC? Kinetic Markets LLC is a Kalshi affiliate registered by the NFA as a futures commission merchant on March 24, 2026, to enable margin trading on the platform.
• How does margin trading work on Kalshi? Instead of posting 100% of a contract’s value, margin traders post a fraction of the position as collateral, improving capital efficiency.
• Who can access Kalshi margin trading first? Margin trading will initially be available to institutional investors such as hedge funds, with retail access potentially following at a later date.
• Is Kalshi regulated by the CFTC? Yes, Kalshi operates as a CFTC-designated contract market, one of the first exchanges approved specifically for event contracts.