US-based spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs began 2026 on a strong note, posting a combined net inflow of around $646 million on the first trading day, despite mixed sentiment across the broader crypto market.

On Friday, spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs saw net inflows of $471.3 million, while spot Ether (ETH) ETFs added $174.5 million, bringing total inflows across the two ETF types to $645.8 million, according to Farside data.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs posted their largest net inflow in 35 trading days since Nov. 11, when the eleven US-based ETFs collectively saw $524 million in a single day.

Meanwhile, spot Ether ETFs saw their largest single-day inflow in 15 trading days, the largest day since Dec. 9, when $177.7 million was recorded.

Crypto ETFs had a tough December amid market decline

Crypto market participants often view ETF inflows as an indicator of mainstream investor sentiment toward the asset class, as well as a potential signal of short-term price direction, depending on whether ETFs are experiencing inflows or constant outflows.

Over the past 30 days, the spot prices of Bitcoin and Ether have fallen 1.56% and 1.39%, respectively, extending a broader period of market caution that followed heightened volatility in October, when a sharp unwind of leveraged positions across crypto derivatives markets triggered the largest single-day liquidation event on record.

Bitcoin is up 1.03% over the past 24 hours. Source: CoinMarketCap

The downtrend has led to market participants being more cautious about the crypto market.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures overall market sentiment, has been between “Extreme Fear” and “Fear” territory since early November.

On Sunday, the Index returned to “Extreme Fear” with a score of 25.

Institutional investors are “loading up,” says crypto exec

Tonso’s chief marketing officer “Wal” said in an X post on Friday that spot Bitcoin ETFs “are back,“ claiming “lots of institutional investors sold their $BTC in Q4 ‘25 to tax loss harvest.”

“Now they are loading up, this is just the beginning,” Wal said.

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Despite the crypto markets stumbling towards the final months of the year, US investors poured over $31.77 billion into US crypto ETFs in 2025.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs took the lion’s share of investor interest, accumulating $21.4 billion in net inflows in 2025. However, it marked a fall from the $35.2 billion net inflows seen in 2024.

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