Bitcoin ETFs Rollercoaster, TradFi ETFs 2026 “Unusual High” $46B
Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have had a shaky start to 2026, with investors' appetites fluctuating wildly even as money flows into traditional ETFs at an unusual pace.
U.S.-listed bitcoin (BTC) ETFs posted $753 million in inflows on Tuesday after a four-day losing streak, according to data from Farside Investors.
By 2026, the Bitcoin ETF had generated a total of $660 million in net income as demand for the currency fluctuated.
On the other hand, traditional ETFs had an “unusual start to the year,” drawing $46 billion in the first six days of 2026, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
“ETFs took in $46b in the first 6 days of the year, an unusually high start to the year, at a pace of $158b for the month, 4x the norm,” the analyst wrote in a Monday X post.
The difference is that ETF investors are actively deploying capital, but prefer to allocate funds tied to traditional investments rather than crypto ETFs, which have a higher risk profile.
Demand for Bitcoin ETFs has declined over the past six months, with monthly net inflows falling from $6 billion in July 2025 to $1.09 billion in December outflows, according to SoSoValue.
RELATED: Powell Probe Could Introduce ‘Danger Premise' For Bitcoin: Analysts
Looking at other crypto funds, Spot Ether (ETH) took in $130 million on Tuesday, bringing total revenue to $240 million so far in 2026, according to Farside Investors.
Spot Solana (SOL) ETFs have continued their unbroken winning streak with $67 million in net positive returns since the start of the year.
RELATED: Standard Chartered Crypto Broker Told To Plan, Lowers ETH Forecast
Bitcoin treasury firms have stepped in to fill the demand gap.
While the lack of interest in ETFs is a worrying sign for Bitcoin's value, blockchain data suggests that Bitcoin treasury companies are stepping in to fill this gap with stable monthly deposits.
Corporate digital asset treasuries (DATs) added a net 260,000 bitcoins over the past six months, outpacing the roughly 82,000 coins mined over the same period.
This equates to monthly corporate investments of around 260,000 BTC, worth roughly $25 billion, according to crypt analytics platform Glassnode.
In contrast to public treasuries, the industry's leading traders tracked as “smart money” were still betting on Bitcoin's fall, with $122 million in net short positions, according to crypto information platform Nansen.
However, the group was short on declines in most top cryptocurrencies except Ether, XRP (XRP), memecoin launchpad Pump.fun (PUMP) token and Zcash (ZEC).
Magazine: If the Crypto Bull Run Is Ending… Time to Buy a Ferrari — Crypto Kid
