Bitcoin Spot ETFs See $357.6M Outflow as Hashrate Slumps After China Mining Shutdown Report

Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded net outflows of $357.6 million on Monday as BTC slid and investors reacted to a reported hit to the network's mining activity. Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (CBOE: FBTC) led the selling, posting $239.12 million in outflows, according to SoSoValue data. Other funds also saw redemptions: Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (NYSE: BITB) lost $44.32 million, Ark & 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (CBOE: ARKB) $34.49 million, Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF (NYSE: GBTC) $27.51 million, and VanEck Bitcoin ETF (CBOE: HODL) $21.25 million. No spot ETF recorded net buying on the day. The selling marked the largest outflow of the month and the biggest since Nov. 20, 2025, when more than $900 million exited the group. December flows also turned negative on Monday, with month-to-date net outflows of $158.85 million. Total net assets for BTC spot ETFs fell to $112.27 billion from $118.27 billion at Friday's close. Trading activity surged alongside the move. Monday's aggregate volume reached $5.29 billion, the busiest session for these products since Dec. 2, 2025. Bitcoin dropped more than 5% between the London close and the New York open, and was trading at $86,010 at publication, down 4.1% on the day. The spot price opened around $86,412, slid as low as $85,140, and later finished the New York session near $86,196. In subsequent Tokyo trading, BTC revisited the $85,260 area. The $85,000 level is now viewed as key support after being approached twice. Derivatives positioning also took a hit. CoinGlass data showed $184 million in BTC liquidations on Monday, with longs making up 84% of wiped-out positions. A separate tally in the report put longs at 86% of total BTC liquidations. The selloff followed comments from Jack Kong, CEO of Nano Labs Limited, who said China had shut down about 400,000 mining machines. The shutdown was tied to a government investigation into mining activity in Xinjiang, and was reported to have driven an 8% drop in hashrate. Kong had flagged an impending shutdown on Dec. 13, 2025. Nano Labs is also described as a digital asset treasury company holding 1,000 BTC, according to Bitcoin Treasuries(dot)Net. Hashrate is a key measure of the Bitcoin network's security and mining capacity. The sharp decline reported Monday appeared to rattle markets, with speculation that affected mining operations could face revenue pressure and may sell BTC to cover costs, adding to broader selling pressure. FBTC had posted net inflows earlier in December—$61.96 million in week 1 and $84.47 million in week 2—but Monday marked the fund's third outflow day this month. IBIT, often the largest driver of daily net flows due to its size, was reported to be inactive on Monday. December's first week saw net outflows of $87.77 million, followed by net inflows of $286.6 million the next week.