Strong Start for US Bitcoin and Ether Spot ETFs in 2026

The US Bitcoin and Ether Spot ETFs have kicked off 2026 on a positive note, garnering around $646 million in net inflows during their first trading day, despite the cryptocurrency market showing mixed reactions.

On Friday, the Spot Bitcoin ETF recorded net inflows of $471.3 million, while the Spot Ether ETF brought in $174.5 million, resulting in a combined total of $645.8 million in inflows, according to data from Pharcyde.

This marks the largest net inflow for the US Spot Bitcoin ETF in 35 trading days, since November 11, when a group of 11 US-based ETFs collectively saw $524 million in a single day.

Likewise, the Spot Ether ETF achieved its biggest one-day inflow in 15 business days and the highest since December 9, when it reached $177.7 million.

Cryptocurrency ETFs Struggled in December

Participants in the cryptocurrency market often interpret inflows into ETFs as a gauge of mainstream investor sentiment towards the asset class, along with a possible indicator of short-term price movements, depending on whether these ETFs are attracting investment or facing outflows.

Over the past month, Bitcoin and Ether prices have dipped by 1.56% and 1.39%, respectively. This adds to the ongoing cautious atmosphere in the market, which has been shaky since October. During that month, a significant unwinding of leveraged positions in the crypto derivatives market led to the largest single-day liquidation event on record.

This downward trend has made many market players more hesitant about the cryptocurrency landscape.

As of Sunday, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which tracks overall market sentiment, is firmly in “extreme fear” territory, registering a score of 25.

Institutional Investors are “Accumulating Capital”

Wal, the chief marketing officer of Tonso, remarked in a post on Friday that spot Bitcoin ETFs are “back.” He noted that many institutional investors had sold Bitcoin in late 2025 due to tax loss harvesting.

“We’re loading up right now, but this is just the beginning,” he claimed.

In 2025, US investors invested over $31.77 billion into US crypto ETFs, even as the market faced challenges towards the year’s end.

Most of this interest centered on US Spot Bitcoin ETFs, which attracted net inflows of $21.4 billion in 2025, down from $35.2 billion in the previous year.

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