Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have had a volatile start to 2026, with sharp swings in investor demand even as money pours into traditional ETFs at an unusually fast pace.
US-listed spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs pulled in $753 million on Tuesday in their second consecutive day of inflows after a four-day losing streak, according to Farside Investors data.
Bitcoin ETFs have raked in a total of $660 million in net inflows so far in 2026 as demand for the funds continued to fluctuate.
Bitcoin ETF flows, in USD million, Source: Farside InvestorsTraditional ETFs, on the other hand, attracted $46 billion in the first six days of 2026, in an “abnormally high to start the year,” according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas.
“ETFs have taken in $46b in first 6 days of year, which is abnormally high to start year, on pace for $158b for month, about 4x the norm,” wrote the analyst in a Monday X post.
Source: Eric BalchunasThe divergence shows that ETF investors are actively deploying capital, but prefer allocating to funds tied to traditional investments instead of crypto ETFs with a higher perceived risk profile.
Demand for Bitcoin ETFs has declined in the past six months, from $6 billion in monthly net inflows in July 2025 to $1.09 billion in outflows during December, according to SoSoValue.
Bitcoin ETF inflows, monthly, all-time chart. Source: SosoValueRelated: Powell investigation may introduce ‘risk premia’ for Bitcoin: Analysts
Looking at other crypto funds, spot Ether (ETH) pulled in $130 million on Tuesday, reaching $240 million in total inflows so far in 2026, according to Farside Investors.
Spot Solana (SOL) ETFs continued their uninterrupted winning streak, recording $67 million in net positive inflows since the start of the year.
Related: Standard Chartered said to plan crypto brokerage, trims ETH forecast
Bitcoin treasury firms step in to fill demand gap
While the lack of ETF demand is a concerning sign for Bitcoin’s price, blockchain data suggests that Bitcoin treasury firms are stepping in to fill this gap through steady monthly accumulation.
Corporate digital asset treasuries (DATs) added a net 260,000 Bitcoin to their balance sheets over the past six months, outpacing the estimated 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 crypto analytics platform Glassnode.
Source: GlassnodeIn contrast to public treasury companies, the industry’s leading traders by returns, tracked as “smart money,” were still betting on Bitcoin’s decline, with $122 million of net short positions, according to crypto intelligence platform Nansen.
Smart money traders, perpetual positions on Hyperliquid exchange. Source: NansenHowever, the cohort was net short and betting on the decline of most top cryptocurrencies, with the exceptions of Ether, XRP (XRP), the memecoin launchpad Pump.fun’s (PUMP) token, and Zcash (ZEC).
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Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-etfs-rollercoaster-tradfi-etfs-2026-abnormally-high-46b?utm_source=rss_feed&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=rss_partner_inbound
