Bitcoin ETF inflows reached US$3.8 billion, setting the best three-week record in 2026

The weekly net inflow of U.S. spot bitcoin ETF was US$986.9 million

In the week ended September 4, the total net inflow of U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) reached US$986.9 million. That brought cumulative net inflows over the past three weeks to $3.8 billion, according to SoSoValue, the strongest performance for these funds so far this year.

As the funds flowed in, the price of Bitcoin remained around US$80,000. Its price briefly fell below $79,000 on Friday before recovering. As of press time, the price of Bitcoin was approximately US$79,716, up approximately 2.6% from the past week.

Data Analysis: Asset Size and Year Comparison

On Friday, the total net asset value of all U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs reached US$101.3 billion. The day before, the figure briefly touched $103.3 billion. Since the funds were established, cumulative net inflows have now reached US$55.6 billion.

Looking back on the past year, these three weeks have been particularly outstanding. Despite the recent buying boom, net flow from Bitcoin ETFs year-to-date is still about minus US$1 billion. Large-scale outflows in early 2026 caused the fund to fall into a net outflow, and recent demand has only partially made up for the gap.

Daily flow data showed that capital inflows slowed down over the weekend. Thursday's one-day inflow was close to $731 million, the highest one-day total since January this year, while Friday's total fell to $174.6 million, a significant drop from the previous day.

Among inflows on Friday, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) topped the list with inflows of $117.4 million, accounting for approximately 67% of the day's total inflows. Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) increased by $57.2 million. All other U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs had zero net flow for the day.

Review of trends in 2026: From pressure to recovery

At the beginning of 2026, Bitcoin ETFs are under pressure. Although strong cumulative inflows have been accumulated since its launch in 2024, recurring waves of redemptions throughout the year have continued to erode this foundation. By late summer, net flows in 2026 turned negative, indicating that institutional demand had cooled compared to previous years.

The turning point began in the past three weeks. After a period of volatility, bitcoin prices stabilized around $80,000. Thursday's one-day inflow of $731 million was the clearest sign of a return to appetite, when Bitcoin regained the $80,000 mark, just as the U.S. dollar index weakened against the yen amid suspected central bank intervention.

Subsequent non-farm payrolls data exceeded expectations, pushing bitcoin prices again below $80,000, indicating that the liquidity of these ETFs is closely tied to broader macroeconomic data. Traders still view employment data and dollar strength as directly related to Bitcoin positions and have not yet fully viewed it as an asset class independent of traditional markets.

Ethereum and XRP ETF present different stories

At the same time, the popularity of Ethereum and XRP funds cooled rapidly. Inflows from spot Ethereum ETF fell to $218.4 million from $824.4 million in the previous week, a drop of approximately 74%. Inflows to the XRP ETF fell even more sharply, plunging 83% from $110.5 million to $19 million.

This comparison is worth pondering. Inflows to Bitcoin ETFs increased by approximately 7% month-on-month, while inflows to Ethereum and XRP shrank significantly. This divergence suggests that investors are reallocating funds back into Bitcoin as the preferred tool during this period, rather than spreading new capital evenly among various crypto-asset ETFs.

Despite the correction, the overall performance of Ethereum and XRP funds remains positive this year. Since January, the spot Ethereum ETF has brought in net inflows of approximately US$863 million, and the XRP ETF has attracted approximately US$515 million over the same period. Although these two numbers are much smaller than Bitcoin's asset base, they suggest that the newer fund class XRP did find real market demand in its first trading year.

Comprehensive interpretation: recovery signals and potential risks

The performance of these three weeks has brought the best liquidity data to the Bitcoin ETF in 2026, but the fundamentals behind it are still mixed. The scale of asset management is still far below the peak level expected by analysts at the time of spot approval in 2024. Year-to-date flows are still negative, meaning that recent purchases are restorative rather than new net demand that exceeds year-to-year levels.

Decomposition of daily data also reveals concentration risks. BlackRock's IBIT alone accounted for two-thirds of Friday's inflows, and only one other fund recorded any inflows that day. A recovery driven by one or two dominant funds is less stable than the widespread demand spread across more than 15 traded funds.

Bitcoin's price movements around US$80,000 are extremely sensitive to macro data outside the cryptocurrency market. The unexpected non-farm payrolls data pushed Bitcoin prices back below $80,000 within days of its release, suggesting that ETF demand and spot prices can quickly move in reverse. Investors following this trend should view the $3.8 billion inflow as a real but fragile signal rather than evidence that the outflow problem in 2026 has been completely resolved.