2025 was officially a wipeout year for US spot Bitcoin ETFs – now flat YoY and down $48B since October

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF total net assets dropped significantly, falling $48.86 billion from the October 6 peak to $120.68 billion by December 4, 2025. This drawdown erased nearly all 2025 gains, leaving the category essentially flat year-over-year, only $30 million below the December 16, 2024 level.

Despite the asset decline, 2025 net creations totaled $22.32 billion through December 4, indicating that issuance demand persisted. The majority of the AUM decline since October was attributed to the sharp price drawdown in Bitcoin (an estimated $46.37 billion in price/PnL impact), rather than net outflows, which totaled only $2.49 billion over the same period. Quarterly flows showed strong creation in Q2 ($12.80B) and Q3 ($8.79B), but Q4 turned slightly negative with $0.20 billion in net redemptions.

This distinction is crucial: the price-led AUM reset suggests resilience in structural adoption, as persistent outflows would imply different secondary market pressures. Cumulative net inflows since launch remained strong at $57.56 billion, confirming that the base of issued shares is significantly higher than implied by price movements alone.

(Source：CryptoSlate)