Bitcoin: ETF Inflows Plunge 80% but Stay in the Green

American Bitcoin ETFs remain in the green, but the pace has clearly changed. After a record $998.9 million inflow on Monday, flows dropped to $190.7 million on Thursday, September 24, a decline of about 81% in three sessions. The streak remains positive, however: six consecutive days of inflows have brought more than $2.8 billion to the funds. Bitcoin itself retreated around $83,800 after exceeding $87,000 at the start of the week.

Six days of purchases brought in more than $2.8 billion

The streak started on September 17. Six sessions later, more than $2.8 billion have flowed into American spot Bitcoin ETFs. This is one of the strongest periods in 2026 for these products.

The peak was reached on Monday. Funds collected $998.9 million in a single day, their best daily performance of the year and their largest inflow since October 2025. This day coincided with Bitcoin briefly passing $87,000.

The pace then slowed without turning negative. On Tuesday, ETFs still gathered $714.7 million. Wednesday: $346.9 million. Thursday: $190.7 million.

In three days, daily inflows were thus divided by more than five. The figure of 81% deserves this clarification: it does not mean that 81% of capital left Bitcoin ETFs. On the contrary, funds continue to receive money. It is the speed of new inflows that dropped 81% compared to Monday’s peak.

From $999 million to $191 million in three sessions

The sequence fairly reflects the change of mood on Bitcoin this week.

• Monday: $998.9 million.
• Tuesday: $714.7 million.
• Wednesday: $346.9 million.
• Thursday: $190.7 million.

The slowdown is steady. Capital keeps arriving, but in much smaller amounts. Bitcoin followed a similar path. BTC took advantage of early week momentum to climb above $87,000 before retreating to about $83,800 at the time of data used by Cryptopolitan. It remained up on the week, however.

A few days earlier, the situation was almost reversed. On September 15, Bitcoin ETFs recorded $450.4 million in net outflows. Fidelity lost $214.8 million, BlackRock $161.7 million, and Grayscale $44.1 million.

Less than ten days later, the same products posted six positive sessions in a row. Flows can change quickly. That is also why a single day nearing a billion dollars is not enough to establish a trend by itself.

BlackRock captures nearly half of the new capital

The current streak relies heavily on one name: IBIT. On Thursday, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF attracted $162.6 million of the $190.7 million recorded by the entire market. This represents about 85% of net inflows that session. Fidelity added $12.9 million with FBTC. Morgan Stanley received $10.2 million, Franklin Templeton $4.9 million, and Bitwise $4.1 million.

WisdomTree was the only fund retreating, with about $4 million in outflows. Over the six sessions, BlackRock would have captured about $1.35 billion, nearly half of the $2.8 billion entering the category. This weight was already visible on Wednesday. IBIT had then exceeded one billion dollars in inflows in just four sessions.

As of September 24, American Bitcoin ETFs collectively held about $108.9 billion in net assets. Their daily trading volume reached $2.27 billion.

The gap between issuers remains huge. IBIT has accumulated more than $65 billion in net inflows since its launch, while Grayscale’s GBTC still shows nearly $28 billion in cumulative outflows, according to Farside Investors.

The 2026 balance sheet finally returns to the green

The $2.8 billion of this streak matters especially because the year had started very badly for Bitcoin ETFs. At the end of June, the accumulated net deficit in 2026 reached about $5.5 billion. June was particularly harsh with about $4.5 billion in redemptions.

Then August changed the direction. Funds attracted $3.52 billion in the month, their best monthly result in 2026. Early September, they still remained about one billion dollars below the annual balance.

The new streak finished the job. As of September 24, American Bitcoin ETFs showed about $787 million in net inflows since the start of 2026. September alone contributed about $2.56 billion.

The contrast is quite stark: a $5.5 billion deficit at the end of June, then a return to the green less than three months later. This does not mean all hesitation has disappeared. The $450 million outflows from September 15 are still recent. Inflows also declined for three consecutive sessions after Monday’s record. But the annual balance is no longer that of early summer.

Bitcoin retreats while leverage returns

The cooling of ETFs accompanies a Bitcoin that has fallen below its weekly highs. After more than $87,000 on Monday, BTC traded around $83,800 at the time of the report cited by Cryptopolitan. The drop from the recent peak remains modest compared to the rise recorded since mid-September.

Another market, however, has regained activity: derivatives. Brian Huang, co-founder of Glider, indicates that Bitcoin futures open interest has returned to May levels. About $3.3 billion in open positions are on Hyperliquid’s BTC perpetuals alone. A negative basis combined with rising open interest can signal opening of new short positions, according to his analysis.

The calendar was already busy this week. On Friday, about $15.6 billion in Bitcoin options, representing nearly 182,000 BTC, expired on Deribit. ETFs, futures, and options thus provide different readings. ETFs continue to buy. Daily flows slow down. Bitcoin has given up part of its rebound. And leverage returns to derivative markets. The figure of $190.7 million on Thursday remains an inflow, not a capital flight. After nearly a billion on Monday, however, it is a serious slowdown.