The US-based Bitcoin and Ether spot ETFs began 2026 on a positive note, recording a combined net inflow of around $646 million on the primary day of trading, despite mixed sentiment within the broader crypto market.
On Friday, spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs recorded net inflows of $471.3 million, while spot Ether (ETH) ETFs added $174.5 million, bringing the full inflows for each ETF types to $645.8 million, based on data from Farside.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded the biggest net inflow in 35 trading days since November 11, when the 11 US-based ETFs recorded a combined $524 million in a single day.
Meanwhile, spot Ether ETFs recorded their largest every day inflows in 15 trading days, the biggest since December 9, when $177.7 million was recorded.
Crypto ETFs had a tricky December amid the market decline
Crypto market participants often view ETF inflows as an indicator of mainstream investor sentiment toward the asset class, in addition to a possible signal of near-term price direction, depending on whether ETFs are experiencing inflows or consistent outflows.
Over the past 30 days, spot prices of Bitcoin and Ether have fallen 1.56% and 1.39%, respectively, continuing a broader downturn that began shortly after Bitcoin hit a record high of $125,100 on October 5, which was followed by the widely reported liquidation of $19 billion on October 10.
Bitcoin is up 1.03% within the last 24 hours. Source: CoinMarketCap
The downtrend has caused market participants to be more cautious in regards to the crypto market.
The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures general market sentiment, has been between “Extreme Fear” and “Fear” for the reason that starting of November.
On Sunday, the index returned to “Extreme Fear” with a reading of 25.
Institutional investors are “loading up,” says crypto manager
Tonso's chief marketing officer “Wal” said in an X post on Friday that spot Bitcoin ETFs are “back,” claiming “many institutional investors sold their $BTC within the fourth quarter of 2025 to capture tax losses.”
“Now they’re charging, that is just the start,” Wal said.
Although crypto markets remained stagnant in the ultimate months of the 12 months, US investors invested over $31.77 billion in US crypto ETFs in 2025.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted the lion's share of investor interest, recording $21.4 billion in net inflows in 2025. However, this marked a decline from net inflows of $35.2 billion in 2024.
