Ether ETFs Lose $1.2 Billion Through Oct. 22 as Bitmine Nears 5%

U.S. spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds recorded $1.2 billion in net outflows through Oct. 22, their largest monthly withdrawal of 2026 so far, as Bitmine Immersion Technologies slowed its buying while nearing a 5% supply target.

The October total rose from $1.08 billion in the earlier October tally. Funds recorded net outflows on all but two trading days through Oct. 22.

Bitmine held 6.04 million ETH, equal to 4.9% of Ethereum’s circulating token supply, and was about 66,000 ETH short of its goal. The company is on track to reach 5% in late November, though supply growth can move the target. Ether supply is growing by about 87,000 ETH a month, shifting the amount needed for a 5% stake by roughly 4,300 ETH each month.

The company bought about 12,500 ETH in each of the past two weeks. Its pace was higher in April and May, when it purchased more than 100,000 ETH in a single week four times.

Bitmine Chair Tom Lee told investors earlier this month, “We’re done stacking.” At Token2049, Lee called the 5% goal “a hard cap” and said, “We’re not gonna be accumulating past 5%.”

ETF flows reversed after net inflows of $1.85 billion in August and $832 million in September. October’s outflows have averaged about $357 million a week. Bitmine’s recent purchases amount to roughly $30 million a week at the prices it paid, making the weekly ETF outflow rate about 12 times larger than Bitmine’s recent buying rate.

Ethereum issues about 20,000 new ETH a week, but issuance can change as network use affects fee burning. When activity is high, the network can burn more tokens; low mainnet gas fees this year have limited that offset. The weekly gap between ETF withdrawals and Bitmine purchases comes as the network continues to add Ether to its supply.