Bitcoin held above $81,000 into the weekend after a volatile week that took it under $80,000 and then back, while U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded another day of redemptions. Investing.com put the coin up 0.6% at $81,544.80 by 15:00 ET on Saturday, after a weekly high above $84,000 failed to hold. A separate Coinbase close for Friday was $81,500, down 0.77% on the day. The level that matters now is $80,000. The coin tested it during the week and recovered, so that round number is the support bulls have to defend if selling resumes on Monday.
Friday ETF outflow of $82.4 million, led by IBIT
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs lost $82.41 million on Friday 16 October, according to Trader T figures reported by Bloomingbit. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accounted for $71.8 million, about 87% of the day's total, and Fidelity's FBTC lost $10.61 million. The other products, including GBTC, Bitwise and Ark, were flat. Month-to-date net outflows stood at $614.9 million. The same funds were still in inflow territory for 2026, with cumulative net inflows of $315.5 million for the year. Crypto Briefing put the five sessions to 16 October at $228.6 million of withdrawals, and cumulative inflows since the January 2024 launch at about $56.88 billion. Assets were about $104.29 billion, equal to roughly 1.276 million BTC. October's redemptions are well under 1% of that stock, but they are large enough to set the tone when the price is already pinned near $80,000.
A split week, then a softer close
The week was not a straight exit. Investing.com logged $65.4 million of withdrawals on 12 October, all from IBIT, then $175.7 million of inflows on 13 October, led by FBTC at $103.1 million and IBIT at $65.9 million. Selling returned on 14 October with about $261.4 million out. That session landed the day after September CPI printed at 3.7%, hotter than the 3.6% consensus, as covered in our note on rate-hike odds. The prior peak above $84,000 is the one we reported on 12 October. Ether funds had a worse week than bitcoin products. See ether ETFs lose $320.1 million. Oil was the other pressure point: Brent touched $110 on Friday for the first time since May.