Bitcoin ETFs will attract $697M on the second day of trading in 2026
Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have generated strong returns in 2026, Matriport analysts point to renewed investor appetite due to a “clean-cut effect” in the new year.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs bagged $697 million in inflows on the second trading day of 2026 on Tuesday, resulting in net positive inflows of more than $1.1 billion in the opening two days of the new year, data from Farside Investors showed.
The renewed earnings are a welcome sign for Bitcoin (BTC) holders, following two consecutive months of net outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs. According to Sosovalue data, the fund saw $3.48 billion in withdrawals in November and $1.09 billion in December.
Geoff Kendrick, Head of Global Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered, recently told Cointelegraph that inflows to identify Bitcoin ETFs in 2025 were the main drivers of Bitcoin's acceleration.
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Looking at other crypto funds, Spot Ether (ETH) ETFs attracted $168 million on Monday, marking their second consecutive day of gains. Spot Solana ( SOL ) ETFs recorded $16.8 million in inflows, ending a 20-day streak of inflows, according to Farside Investors.
The improved demand for crypto ETFs reflects a “phase of rebalancing” driven by geopolitical risk and a “liquidity position”, so fundamental market drivers remain “constructive” despite heightened uncertainty, said Lacy Zhang, research analyst at Bitgate Wallet.
As signs of renewed ETF flows and stable coin supply widen, “institutional buyers will absorb supply and support the near-term recovery,” Zhang told Cointelegraph.
“In this setup, Bitcoin has room to push toward $105,000, while Ethereum may test $3,600, as traders balance inflation with the crypto's deflationary characteristics and long-term adoption narrative.”
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Crypto market interest surges on New Year's “pure-computing effect”
Meanwhile, the crypto platform Matrixport highlighted the new year, a “clean-slate effect” which allowed the cryptocurrency markets to reset from the $30 Bitcoin and Ether futures in October, which has not been realized since the collapse of the $19 billion market.
“Entering 2026, the position is very weak, speculative gains have been abandoned, and without the weight of crowded trades, Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies now have room to follow their natural course, which is likely higher,” Matrixsport wrote in Monday's X-Post.
Still, the industry's most successful traders, tracked by Nansen as “smart money” traders, continue to bet on Bitcoin's decline.
Smart money traders were short $108 million on Bitcoin in the past 24 hours, adding about $19 million to their short positions, according to crypto intelligence platform Nansen.
However, the group was net long in Ether price at 712 million dollars and XRP (XRP) at 83 million dollars, which shows the opposite of expectations for these coins.
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