Crypto's Cash Pipes Run Backward: Stablecoins at 13-Month Low, ETFs Shed $1B

Crypto's two main on-ramps are both running in reverse. Total stablecoin supply slid to $295.9 billion on Tuesday, its lowest since September 2025, after roughly $5.7 billion drained out in just seven days, DefiLlama data show. Over the same stretch, US spot Bitcoin ETFs shed $1.04 billion across Oct. 30 and Nov. 2 — their largest two-day outflow since late June, per Farside Investors.

The ETF damage came in two chunks: $643.2 million out on Friday and $398.6 million on Monday. BlackRock's IBIT swallowed the entire Monday net outflow, marking its worst single-day loss since June. Bitcoin traded near $77,300 Tuesday morning, roughly 2% above the $75,800 short-term holder cost basis that Checkonchain's James Check says has held so far — and it's still staring down a fifth consecutive weekly loss.

Tether did most of the bleeding. Its supply dropped to $178.8 billion, the lowest since October 2025, accounting for more than half the overall decline. Circle's USDC shrank through most of October and has sat roughly flat since. The pullback isn't new — supply has now fallen about $11.4 billion since Oct. 5, extending a slide from May's record, and reversing the gains that piled up during the August rally when Bitcoin pushed above $85,000.

CryptoQuant contributor Darkfost pinned the shrink on weak demand and scant new money entering the market. He also flagged a string of exploits across crypto that may leave investors seeing too much risk in holding it. Rick Maeda, head of markets at Laevitas, told The Block the mood is one of caution rather than fear, noting Friday's ETF outflow amounted to less than 1% of the funds' assets. ViaBTC chief analyst Jeff Ko chalked the selling up to a sentiment shock.

Why it matters: stablecoins are the dollars traders park on exchanges to buy crypto, while ETFs pull money in from brokerage accounts. When stablecoin supply shrinks, more tokens are being redeemed for dollars than minted — fewer dry-powder chips on the table. Imperial College London researchers found links between stablecoin activity and crypto prices across daily, weekly and monthly horizons in a March study.

Check called the pullback the first major gut check correction since the August rally, with Galaxy Research's 50-week moving average sitting just below. Midterm results start landing tonight, and the US jobs report follows Friday. Darkfost put the stakes plainly on Tuesday: it is becoming urgent to see liquidity return to the crypto market.