Bitcoin ETFs come into year ‘like a lion’: 600% surge at current pace

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds have started the year at an explosive pace that could, if maintained, see it blow out total inflows from 2025.

“The spot Bitcoin ETFs are coming into 2026 like a lion,” said Bloomberg’s senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas on Tuesday.

He pointed out that there have been more than $1.2 billion in inflows in the first two trading days of the year, “with everyone eating,” meaning nearly all funds have seen inflows. The WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW) was the exception.

Balchunas observed that if this pace is maintained, it would mean $150 billion in annual inflows, which is around 600% more than the total inflow for 2025.

“Told ya’ll if they can take in $22 billion when it’s raining, imagine when the sun is shining,” he said.

US spot BTC ETFs see large inflows so far in 2026. Source: Eric Balchunas

Largest inflow day for three months

Spot BTC ETFs in the US saw net inflows of $21.4 billion in 2025, with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) taking the lion’s share. However, it marks a decline from the $35.2 billion net inflows seen in 2024.

Monday’s whopping $697 million net inflow was the largest for three months as BTC prices returned to and remained above $90,000 again following a tumultuous fortnight to end 2025.

Related: Investors funnel $32B into US crypto ETFs despite year-end pullback

According to Fabian Dori, CIO at Sygnum, this renewed ETF demand is increasingly relevant for market structure. He noted that ETF demand is steadily absorbing circulating supply, pointing to a potential long-term demand shock, rather than short-term speculative flows.

Momentum appeared to be cooling on Tuesday, however, with preliminary figures showing an increasing likelihood of an outflow day due to a large exodus from the Fidelity fund, pending data from BlackRock.

Morgan Stanley to join the fray

Multi-trillion-dollar asset manager Morgan Stanley filed with the SEC on Tuesday to launch Bitcoin and Solana ETFs. This move places the Wall Street giant alongside BlackRock and Fidelity in the crypto ETF space.

According to the filing, the Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust is a passive investment vehicle designed to track Bitcoin’s spot price and will not use leverage or derivatives.

“I like this move by them. It’s smart,” opined Balchunas.

“They have like $8T in advisory assets, and they already OK’d those advisors to allocate, so might as well be in their own branded fund vs paying BlackRock or someone else,” he added.

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