Bitcoin and Gold ETFs Record $12B in Outflows as Capital Rotates Into Semiconductor Stocks

Bitcoin has stayed under pressure since the start of the year, slipping below $60,000 for the first time since late 2024. The biggest ETFs tied to its performance have shed more than $8 billion in a matter of weeks. Gold opened 2026 with momentum and pushed to a new all-time high, but that rally has faded and the metal is now down. Flows data suggest investors have been moving money out of both assets. The selloff in Bitcoin ETFs began last November, shortly after a $19 billion drop in October. Investors withdrew $3.5 billion in November, followed by continued multi-billion-dollar redemptions in December and January. March and April briefly flipped back to inflows of $1.32 billion and $1.97 billion, respectively. That improved tone broke again in May, when $2.43 billion left the category. June is on pace for the worst month on record, with net outflows already just over $4 billion. Cumulative net inflows into Bitcoin ETFs have fallen from an October peak of $61.19 billion to $51.61 billion as of last week, a decline of nearly $10 billion. Around $8 billion of that has come out in the past seven weeks alone. Gold ETF flows show a similar pattern. Funds drew fresh money earlier in the year alongside gold's surge to an all-time high, but recent numbers have turned negative. According to The Kobeissi Letter, ETFs tracking Bitcoin and gold have posted a combined $12 billion in cumulative outflows since April. The note added that the largest U.S. gold-backed ETF, $GLD, is down 13% since the start of April, while the largest Bitcoin ETF, $IBIT, is down 12% over the same period. Not all ETF categories have seen withdrawals. The same analysts said U.S.-listed ETFs have taken in more than $1 trillion of net inflows in 2026, putting the market on track for a new annual record. A key destination for that money appears to be semiconductors. The Kobeissi Letter reported that U.S. semiconductor ETFs have pulled in $20 billion of cumulative inflows over roughly the same period in which gold and Bitcoin ETFs lost $12 billion. The rotation accelerated in mid-May and extended into June. Performance has reinforced the shift. The analysts noted that semiconductor ETFs $SOXX and $SMH are up 81% and 60%, respectively, over the same timeframe in which $GLD and $IBIT are down 13% and 12%.