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Ark Invest’s Bitcoin ETF hit by $30m outflow as spot funds see $171m drain

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Ark Invest’s Bitcoin ETF hit by $30m outflow as spot funds see $171m drain

Ark Invest’s Bitcoin ETF saw one of the sharpest single‑day outflows of the month this week, as investors yanked tens of millions of dollars from spot products just as Bitcoin slid back toward the mid‑$60,000s.

Summary

  • U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded about $171 million in net outflows on March 27, with Ark Invest’s ARK 21Shares fund among the hardest hit.
  • Ark’s CEO Cathie Wood, long one of Bitcoin’s loudest institutional bulls, now faces a tape where her flagship crypto vehicle is bleeding capital even as she reiterates long‑term upside.
  • The reversal in flows undercuts part of the “institutional floor” narrative that has supported Bitcoin since U.S. spot ETFs launched in early 2024.

The latest data show U.S. spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs posted a combined $171.12 million in net outflows on March 27, the largest one‑day withdrawal in more than three weeks and a stark contrast to the steady inflows seen earlier this month. According to ETF flow trackers, BlackRock’s IBIT led redemptions with roughly $41.9 million out, followed by Fidelity’s FBTC at about $32 million, while Ark Invest’s ARK 21Shares ETF saw approximately $30.5 million leave in a single session. Those exits hit as Bitcoin slipped back toward $70,000, with selling pressure from ETF desks reinforcing a broader risk‑off move across digital assets.

For Cathie Wood, the numbers add short‑term pain to a long‑running conviction trade. The Ark founder has for years argued that Bitcoin could eventually reach $500,000 if corporate treasuries and institutional allocators push even 5% of portfolios into the asset, telling CNBC at the SALT Conference that “the price will be ten‑fold what it is today” if that thesis plays out. Ark has backed that view with positioning, building exposure across vehicles such as its Next Generation Internet ETF and, more recently, via its ARK 21Shares spot product, which quickly became one of the most closely watched newcomers in the U.S. ETF lineup.

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Yet the latest redemption wave shows how tactical those same institutions can be when macro conditions sour. Market data providers say investors are rotating out of risk assets on the back of sticky inflation, uncertainty over the Federal Reserve’s rate‑cut path, and escalating geopolitical tension around Iran, all of which have pushed volatility higher and forced some fast‑money players to de‑risk. “This pattern of inflows and outflows is becoming a key indicator of institutional positioning,” one ETF flow note observed, pointing out that even newer funds and smaller trusts such as VanEck’s HODL and Grayscale’s mini‑BTC product joined Ark’s ARKB in posting redemptions.

The move matters because Ark has been central to the story that spot ETFs would anchor Bitcoin with a deeper, more stable institutional base. Earlier in March, U.S. spot funds briefly flipped back to net inflows, including a day when the complex added about $167 million in fresh cash, suggesting some large accounts were willing to buy dips. That pattern appears to have reversed, at least temporarily, with several consecutive outflow days culminating in Thursday’s $171 million drawdown, undercutting the idea that ETF demand alone can offset macro shocks or positioning washes in derivatives.

Still, most analysts tracking Ark and its peers see the current outflows as tactical rather than a structural rejection of Bitcoin. Flows tend to whipsaw around options expiries, CPI releases, and geopolitical headlines, and Ark’s own research — including its latest Big Ideas 2026 report — continues to frame Bitcoin as a multi‑cycle, high‑conviction allocation rather than a quarter‑to‑quarter trade. For investors watching Wood’s ETF specifically, the question now is whether renewed inflows reappear on the next bout of weakness, or whether this week’s $30‑plus million exit marks the start of a longer period in which Ark’s name recognition is not enough to keep nervous capital from heading to the sidelines.

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Crypto World

Morgan Stanley Sets Bitcoin ETF Fee at Ultra-Low 0.14%

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Morgan Stanley Sets Bitcoin ETF Fee at Ultra-Low 0.14%

Investment bank Morgan Stanley is seeking to launch its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund at a 0.14% fee, which would make it the cheapest in the US market and potentially force rivals to cut fees to stay competitive.

The 0.14% fee, proposed in Morgan Stanley’s latest S-1 registration statement on Friday, would be one basis point below the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (BTC), currently the cheapest in the US market, and 11 basis points below the BlackRock-issued iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT).

“Big move here. They are not messing around,” Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said, predicting that the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT) is “likely to launch in early April.”

Source: James Seyffart

Fellow Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the low fee means that none of Morgan Stanley’s roughly 16,000 financial advisors — which manage $6.2 trillion in client assets — would feel conflicted in recommending the product to its clients.

Given that spot Bitcoin ETFs track the price movements of Bitcoin (BTC), Morgan Stanley’s ultra-low fee could spark a fresh fee war in the $83 billion market, putting immediate pressure on rivals to cut costs or risk losing assets.

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Regulatory approval would make Morgan Stanley the first bank to issue a spot Bitcoin ETF, expanding access to Bitcoin exposure for millions of its high-net-worth clients.

“They are the ultimate gatekeepers of rich boomer money,” Balchunas added.

Morgan Stanley previously selected Coinbase and Bank of New York Mellon as the proposed custodians for its Bitcoin ETF.

Morgan Stanley seeking suite of crypto ETFs, banking charter

Morgan Stanley, previously one of the more crypto-hesitant Wall Street firms, filed for the spot Bitcoin ETF in the first week of January, along with a Solana (SOL) ETF.

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Related: Bitcoin traders see 53% odds of sub-$66K BTC by April 24 

It then filed papers for a staked Ether (ETH) ETF later that week, and by the end of the month, the bank appointed one of Morgan Stanley’s longest-standing executives, Amy Oldenburg, to lead its digital asset team.

Source: James Seyffart

Morgan Stanley also applied for a national trust banking charter on Feb. 18, seeking to custody certain digital assets and execute purchases, sales and swaps for clients in addition to staking services.

In October, before the investment bank adopted its institutional crypto strategy, it recommended a 2% to 4% allocation to crypto portfolios for investors. It also allowed its financial advisors to recommend crypto funds to clients with individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and 401(k)s.

Magazine: Bitcoin may face hard fork over any attempt to freeze Satoshi’s coins

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