Crypto Today: Bitcoin ETFs Post Record Nine-Day Outflow Streak

Today in crypto, spot Bitcoin ETFs logged a record nine-day outflow streak totaling $2.84 billion, the SEC approved Paxos as a clearing agency, and SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce says crypto-based privacy technologies can strengthen investor protection and urged not to treat them with suspicion.

Bitcoin ETFs bleed $2.8 billion in record nine-day outflow streak

US-listed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted their longest outflow streak since launch, extending withdrawals as institutional demand for Bitcoin exposure weakened.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded another $223 million in net outflows on Thursday, marking the record nine-day outflow streak since the funds launched in 2024, according to data from Farside Investors.

The latest streak surpassed the previous record eight-session outflow run recorded in February 2025, though its roughly $2.84 billion in cumulative withdrawals remains below the $3.2 billion lost during the earlier selloff.

US spot Bitcoin ETF outflows in May 2026 versus February 2025. Source: SoSoValue

The outflows suggest institutional demand for Bitcoin exposure is weakening through the ETF channel, and come as major corporate holders such as Strategy face renewed pressure even as some new altcoin products like Hyperliquid (HYPE) ETFs continue attracting investor interest.

SEC approves Paxos as clearing agency

The US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday granted registration to the blockchain infrastructure platform and stablecoin issuer Paxos as a clearing agency.

Paxos said its subsidiary, Paxos Securities Settlement Company, became “the only blockchain-native firm” that the SEC approved to provide clearing and settlement services as a central securities depository in the US.

The approval represents a “critical piece of financial market infrastructure” as blockchain technology and traditional capital markets continue to converge, the company said. 

Clearing agencies ensure securities trades are executed cleanly. Stock buyers and sellers do not trade directly and need clearing and settlement providers that verify the trade, match the buyer and seller, and then ensure the actual exchange of money and securities happens correctly.

SEC Commissioner Peirce defends crypto privacy tools against surveillance push

US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Commissioner Hester Peirce said financial privacy is becoming increasingly undervalued in US regulation, warning against treating privacy-preserving technologies with suspicion.

Speaking Wednesday at Georgetown Law, Peirce described privacy-enhancing technologies, including cryptographic tools, as legitimate components of modern financial infrastructure rather than tools primarily associated with criminal activity.

Peirce said that protecting financial privacy does not conflict with national security objectives.

“Empowering government to be able to identify, pursue, and punish the bad guys is important to the security of the nation and its people, but so too is empowering people to protect information about their lives, including their financial lives,” she said, according to a transcript published on the SEC’s website.