Institutional exit is among the reasons behind today’s continued sell-offs in the digital currency market.

The turmoil coincides with substantial uncertainty in crypto ETFs, with the products delivering what seems to be an upside-down performance.

Market movers Bitcoin and Ethereum battled massive selling momentum, while Solana and XRP attracted fresh funds, likely as the latest ETF launches drive optimism.

Let us dig deeper.

BTC ETFs suffer $903M in outflows

SoSoValue data shows Bitcoin exchange-traded funds experienced a whopping $903 million in outflows on Thursday, November 20, marking the second-highest 24-hour withdrawal the products have seen since their debut early last year.

Source – SoSoValue

BTC ETFs have struggled throughout this month, logging positive figures four times since November 3.

Such a scale of withdrawal signals a risk-averse stance among investors.

With big money stepping back, the cryptocurrency market remains poised for prolonged struggle.

Commenting on the prevailing outlook, analyst Mister Crypto stated:

We are seeing massive amounts of outflows in the Bitcoin ETFs. The ETFs were among the major drivers behind price appreciation this cycle. If this trend continues, the price will likely fall much lower in the coming weeks.

Ethereum mirrors Bitcoin

ETFs tied to the second-largest crypto recorded withdrawals worth $261.59 million on Thursday.

The ETFs have seen eight straight days of outflows (Farside data).

Ethereum’s price has underperformed amidst the massive ETF withdrawals.

The altcoin has plummeted from last month’s peak of above $4,200 to $2,701.

ETH has lost its crucial support level of $2,800 after its overnight decline, and is now poised for more declines or extended consolidations.

Institutions are already feeling the heat.

For example, the biggest corporate Ethereum holder BitMine Immersion is now facing unrealized losses amounting to roughly $3.7 billion.