Spot crypto exchange-traded funds in the United States experienced substantial outflows on March 26, 2026, with leading institutions like BlackRock driving the sell-off. Data for the day revealed a collective withdrawal of approximately $263 million, reflecting heightened de-risking by major financial players.
BlackRock And Peers Drive Digital Asset ETF Withdrawals
BlackRock, recognized as the world’s largest asset manager with trillions in assets under management and a growing presence in digital asset products, was the most active seller. The company disposed of $42 million in Bitcoin and nearly $142 million in Ethereum through its ETF offerings. BlackRock’s move was accompanied by other industry giants such as Fidelity and Grayscale, who each undertook significant sales of both Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings.
Fidelity let go of 479 BTC, totaling $32.81 million, along with 11,710 ETH valued at $23.95 million. Grayscale, another major digital asset manager, sold 446 BTC for $30.51 million and 9,790 ETH for $20.04 million. Meanwhile, Bitwise parted with 483 BTC (worth $33.10 million) and 2,500 ETH ($5.12 million), while ARK 21Shares contributed by selling 445 BTC (approximately $30.45 million). VanEck reduced its exposure by offloading 35 BTC, around $2.42 million in value.
Market Impact Reflected In Bitcoin And Ethereum Prices
The rush of outflows put immediate downward pressure on asset prices. Bitcoin was quoted at $68,624, marking a 2.01% decrease over the previous 24 hours and a 2.79% drop on the weekly chart. Market analyst KillaXBT highlighted a bearish technical structure ahead of the move, suggesting that a decisive fall below $67,900 could lead to further declines toward $65,000. However, maintaining prices above that level still leaves room for possible rebounds toward $69,500.
Ethereum mirrored Bitcoin’s losses. The ETH price stood at $2,062, down 2.72% for the day and 3.62% over the week. Within a 24-hour timeframe, ETH fluctuated between $2,036 and $2,123, while its weekly range stretched from $2,035 to $2,185. Additional selling pressure emerged when on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain tracked an Ethereum ICO participant moving 11,552 ETH at $2,027 per token, a sale amounting to $23.42 million.
Whale Liquidations Exacerbate Volatility
The turbulence was amplified by high-profile liquidations in the derivatives market. Lookonchain indicated that trader Machi (known online as @machibigbrother) saw his Bitcoin and Ethereum long positions completely liquidated during the price dip, following a $500,000 USDC deposit made three days prior. The resulting balance was $138,000, registering cumulative losses of $30.75 million.
Due to the market drop, Machi’s BTC and ETH long positions have been fully liquidated again. He deposited $500,000 USDC just 3 days ago and now only has $138,000 left, with total losses reaching $30.75 million. But he didn’t give up—he opened another 25x long on 1,600 ETH valued at $3.33 million.
Despite these setbacks, Machi returned swiftly to the market, opening a new position with $3.33 million of leveraged ETH. Whale activity drew attention to the potential for outsized losses during high volatility periods prompted by coordinated institutional moves.
Among other crypto ETFs, Solana products saw $1.04 million in outflows, while Chainlink ETFs bucked the general trend with $156,780 in inflows. Litecoin, Dogecoin, Polkadot, Hedera, and Avalanche ETFs showed no significant flow activity for the period.
