U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have achieved a remarkable turnaround, drawing $2.4 billion in net inflows during the September 21-25 trading week according to Farside Investors data, marking the largest weekly total since October 2025. This represents a 180-degree shift from the red ink that characterized the early part of 2025, with the recovery coinciding perfectly with Bitcoin's price advance from under $58,000 in early June to approximately $87,000 currently. The $4 billion in ETF inflows since August have been particularly significant, with nearly $2.84 billion flowing in over six consecutive days of positive inflows. However, this current performance remains well below the $35.2 billion in 2024 and $21.4 billion in 2025, highlighting the substantial ground still to be made up for institutional adoption. The $108.42 billion in total assets held by ETFs demonstrates the growing institutional presence in the crypto market, with the funds now showing approximately $934 million in year-to-date net inflows after reversing their previously negative 2026 performance. As per The Economic Times, about 31,800 BTC also moved off exchanges last week, pointing to accumulation activity beyond ETF flows.
The ETF recovery has been directly linked to the U.S. Treasury's August 19 announcement of expanded long-dated bond buyback operations, as reported by ETF analyst Nate Geraci. The Treasury raised the maximum size of liquidity-support buybacks from $2 billion to at least $4 billion each for operations covering the 10-to-20-year and 20-to-30-year sectors, with the larger operations taking effect September 9 and scheduled through November 4. Geraci's analysis shows cumulative Bitcoin ETF inflows of approximately $5.3 billion since the Treasury announcement, with $2.4 billion flowing into U.S. Bitcoin ETFs during the week ending September 25 alone. Monday's $999 million intake ranked as the ninth-largest single-day inflow since U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024, demonstrating the significant impact of the policy change on investor sentiment. Despite challenging macroeconomic conditions, including the U.S. 10-year Treasury yield climbing to around 5.12% on September 23, the strongest level since 2007, Bitcoin ETFs maintained strong demand. As per The Economic Times, sustained institutional demand continues to support the market, with large investors accumulating even as macro conditions remain restrictive.
BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) emerged as the week's top performer, collecting $381.4 million on Monday, September 21, which was the ninth-largest single-day inflow since U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024. The fund received $998.95 million on Monday, followed by $350.3 million on Tuesday, and posted inflows on every trading day of the week. Fidelity's FBTC followed with $238.8 million, while ARK 21Shares' ARKB added $289.1 million and Morgan Stanley's MSBT drew $203.3 million. Monday's $998.95 million was the largest daily Bitcoin ETF inflow of the week, with the funds then adding $714.7 million on Tuesday, $346.9 million on Wednesday, $190.7 million on Thursday, and $134.5 million on Friday. The weekly total exceeded the prior week's roughly $6.1 million net inflow, which included sharp withdrawals on September 15 and 16 before flows recovered. However, inflows fell each session, reaching $134.5 million on Friday, about 87% below Monday's surge, indicating thinning buying interest despite the record weekly performance.
Bitcoin has delivered one of its strongest third-quarter performances on record, climbing from around $58,500 at the start of July to about $87,000, representing a gain of roughly 43.5%. If Bitcoin holds these levels through the end of September, Q3 2026 would rank as its second-best third-quarter performance ever, surpassed only by 2017, when Bitcoin surged about 80.4%. The cryptocurrency remained above its daily 20-period midpoint after retreating from the weekly peak, with sell orders concentrated between roughly $85,000 and $85,800 on September 26. The $85,000 level is now being tested as critical support, with CoinMarketCap placing near-term support at $84,000, while a break below would expose $82,000. The $84,241 level represents the current trading range as markets digest the latest developments. Looking ahead, the next significant resistance zone is expected to be around $98,000 to $100,000, though historically the fourth quarter has been stronger for crypto markets than the third. However, Bitcoin's price was trading at $82,956.98 at press time after a drop of 2% in the past 24 hours, indicating some near-term volatility despite the strong ETF performance. As per The Economic Times, Bitcoin and Ethereum were down 2.52% and 2.70% respectively in the past 24 hours, with the global crypto market capitalisation down 2.04% at $2.84 trillion.
While Bitcoin ETFs dominated the headlines, other altcoin ETFs also remained positive during the past week, demonstrating broad-based investor interest beyond Bitcoin. Ethereum [ETH] ETFs recorded $689.88 million in inflows, accounting for the largest share of altcoin ETF flows, followed by Solana [SOL] ETFs with $188.22 million, XRP ETFs attracting $75.59 million, and Hyperliquid [HYPE] ETFs recording $9.25 million in positive inflows. This shows that investor interest extended beyond Bitcoin, with Ethereum leading the altcoin ETF performance. Despite challenging macroeconomic conditions including the CLARITY Act's failure to advance and persistent inflation concerns, Bitcoin's price recovery from around $75,000 to above $87,000 was only possible because of strong demand for Bitcoin ETFs. The negative netflows streak in Bitcoin exchange flows actually represents a positive sign as it reduces the amount of Bitcoin immediately available for selling. As per The Economic Times, among the major altcoins, BNB, XRP, Solana, Hyperliquid, Dogecoin and Cardano corrected up to 5.21%, while Tron was up 0.05%.
