Spot ETFs rotated red on with Bitcoin ETFs seeing a $258 million outflow and Ethereum ETFs hitting a fourth day of exits with another $251 million outflow.
Despite the drop, Bitcoin remains +4.5% for September; October seasonality historically favors BTC (avg. +21%).
Whales are net sellers: -147,000 BTC since August 21, the fastest monthly decline of this cycle; long-term holders realized ~3.4 million BTC in profits during the run-up.
Liquidations and deleveraging hit hard: the flash drop wiped $265 million of BTC longs and contributed to a broader multi-hundred million liquidation wave.
Structural note: Ethereum supply on exchanges is at a nine-year low (14.8 million ETH), a bullish supply signal despite short-term price pressure.
As Chainalysis touts the accuracy of its tracing tools, new out-of-sample tests of the co-spend heuristic raise urgent questions about error rates, scientific validation, and whether blockchain forensic evidence meets legal standards.
As ETFs, corporate treasuries, and tokenized real-world assets absorb supply, the old four-year retail cycle is giving way to a macro-driven, institution-led regime where liquidity concentrates, volatility compresses, and value accrues to utility over hype.