Amidst a volatile market, the bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) sector has witnessed an unprecedented streak of net outflows over the course of five consecutive days. According to data from BitMEX Research, the ten US spot bitcoin ETFs collectively saw a total of $888 million in investor money leaving the funds.

The largest outflows occurred on March 19 and March 20, with $326 million and $262 million leaving the ETFs, respectively. However, the net outflows slowed down towards the end of the week, with $94 million and $52 million flowing out on Thursday and Friday, respectively.

BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) registered a record low flow total for a single day on Friday, with just $19 million moving out of the fund. Nevertheless, both IBIT and the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin ETF have managed to bring in net inflows on each of their first 50 days of trading. This accomplishment is regarded as noteworthy, with analysts highlighting that no other new ETFs have achieved similar results.

This recent five-day outflow streak is a first for the bitcoin ETF sector, marking a departure from the previous four straight days of outflows observed from January 22 to January 25. Notably, the net outflow trend follows a record-breaking week for the funds, during which they experienced $2.5 billion in net inflows.

The outflow streak can be partly attributed to the recent price correction of bitcoin. The cryptocurrency's price dropped from nearly $68,000 on March 18 to below $61,000, representing a decline of over 10%. Although the price fluctuated throughout the week, it remained significantly below its all-time high of over $73,000, set on March 14. As a result, investors exhibited hesitancy, leading to lower inflows into new ETF issuers in the US, according to James Butterfill, CoinShares' head of research.

It is important to note that Grayscale Investments, which converted its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to an ETF on January 11, is not included among the new ETF bitcoin fund issuers. However, GBTC experienced outflows totaling $2 billion, while the other nine funds managed to attract around $1.1 billion in inflows. Analyst James Seyffart from Bloomberg Intelligence suggested that the outflows from GBTC may have been influenced by bankrupt lender Genesis offloading its shares.

Looking ahead, some experts anticipate a potential slowdown in the outflows over the coming week. Nevertheless, the bitcoin ETF sector continues to navigate through market uncertainties and the impact of price volatility on investor sentiment.

As the market evolves, it remains to be seen how bitcoin ETFs will adapt and whether they can effectively attract investor attention amid shifting market dynamics.