Bitcoin ETFs Bleed $5.8B in Outflows as Abu Dhabi Quietly Loads Up $1B+ on the Dip

In early February 2026, US spot Bitcoin ETFs saw continuous outflows. About $360 million left during the week of February 9–13, mainly from large sales in BlackRock’s IBIT (-$235M) and Fidelity’s FBTC (-$125M). Another $105 million net outflow followed on February 17. This selling, caused by people taking profits and Bitcoin's price staying between $60K–$66K, lowered total ETF assets from over $116 billion to around $95 billion. Total outflows over the last three months are close to $5.8 billion. Still, inflows are positive overall so far this year.

In contrast to the risk-averse attitude of retail and institutional investors in the US, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds—Mubadala and Al Warda—became strong contrarian buyers in Q4 2025. These funds bought over $1 billion worth of shares in BlackRock’s IBIT, increasing their holdings by 46% while Bitcoin's price went down by 23%. This shows a planned long-term investment in crypto during market changes.

Even though the recent drop in Bitcoin's price has reduced the value of Abu Dhabi's holdings to about $800 million, this action shows rising sovereign trust in Bitcoin as a way to diversify portfolios. While US ETFs are still seeing short-term issues from price drops and outflows, this well-known purchase shows a patient strategy of buying when prices are low, which is different from the more careful view of the general market in early 2026.