Written by:

Chris Flood

Published date

24 Dec 2025

Industry Updates

Crypto ETPs blitzed by bitcoin retreat

Bitcoin sell-off drags crypto ETPs into negative territory for 2025

Any cryptocurrency novices that started using exchange traded products to invest in bitcoin in 2025 are sitting on losses following a sharp sell-off that could signal the onset of a deeper price correction.

The crypto market registered its worst ever one-day sell-off on 10 October when Donald Trump threatened to impose additional tariffs of 100% on China with the President’s comments also triggering a drop in the US stock market.

The S&P 500 has since rebounded and rallied to a fresh all-time high during the Christmas week. Bitcoin, however, has lost around 30% since its 2026 peak of $124,714.85 on 6 October according to CoinDesk, with the forced closure of heavily leveraged positions dragging down the most popular digital currency.

Bitcoin’s retreat has led to losses across US and European-listed crypto ETPs.

BlackRock’s $68bn Nasdaq-listed Bitcoin ETF Trust (IBIT) has attracted net inflows of $25bn so far in 2026. However, IBIT has fallen by around 6.2% so most of those new commitments are currently sitting on paper losses.

All 19 of the European-listed cryptocurrency ETPs on the justETF website are down by between 7% and 11% so far this year. Exchange rate movements have increased the pain for UK investors with the US dollar falling in value against sterling this year.

The ban that prevented UK retail investors buying crypto exchange-traded notes (ETNs) was removed on 8 October. The end of the ban was announced by the Financial Conduct Authority in August but the timing of the policy change now looks unfortunate as it coincided with bitcoin’s peak, meaning that any UK retail investors that have since bought crypto ETNs have lost money.

An array of publicly-listed bitcoin treasury companies, also known as digital asset treasuries, which have borrowed money to invest in cryptocurrencies have seen sharp falls in their share prices in the final quarter of this year.

Shares in Nasdaq-listed Strategy, the pioneer of the bitcoin treasury business model, have dropped by more than half this year.

Nasdaq-listed Alt5 Sigma has dropped 73% this year after build a treasury of digital tokens issued by World Liberty Financial, a crypto venture co-founded by Donald Trump and his three sons.

Some observers have suggested that digital asset treasury companies might be forced to liquidate some of their investments in order to meet interest payments on debt which could exacerbate the downturn for crypto.

But some analysts think the crypto sell-off has gone too far already.

David Schassler, head of multi-asset solutions at VanEck, a US asset manager which operates a range of crypto ETPs, says bitcoin is set to be a “top performer” next year.

“Bitcoin is lagging the Nasdaq 100 Index by roughly 50% year-to-date and that dislocation is setting it up to be a top performer in 2026.

"Today’s weakness reflects softer risk appetite and temporary liquidity pressures, not a broken thesis. As [currency] debasement ramps, liquidity returns and bitcoin historically responds sharply. We have been buying,” wrote Schassler in VanEck’s market outlook for 2026.