Institutional Investors Return To Crypto ETF In Force

Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs attracted 645.8 million dollars on January 2. In a still hesitant market, this volume is surprising. It marks the strongest day of inflows in over a month for Bitcoin products and an unprecedented peak since December for Ether. While 2025 ended on a decline, this surge is striking.

A marked return of flows to crypto ETFs

On January 2, 2026, spot ETFs on Bitcoin and Ethereum listed in the United States experienced a particularly strong influx of capital, contrasting with the gloomy market sentiment.

According to data from Farside, Bitcoin ETFs recorded net inflows of 471.3 million dollars, while Ethereum ETFs attracted 174.5 million dollars. These amounts make this day one of the strongest in terms of recent fundraising.

For bitcoin, this is the best score in 35 days, while for Ethereum, it is the largest inflow in 15 days, surpassing that of last December 9.

Here are the key facts to remember :

• The Bitcoin ETF : +$471.3M in one day, the highest level since November 11, 2025 ($524M) ;

• The Ethereum ETF : +$174.5M in one day, best performance since December 9, 2025 ($177.7M) ;

• The combined total flows : $645.8M injected in a single session ;

• The year 2025 : 31.77 billion dollars injected into US crypto ETFs, including 21.4 billion for Bitcoin ETFs, down from 35.2 billion in 2024.

These figures fall within a market context that is still not very encouraging for investors. The Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have declined over the past 30 days by 1.56 % and 1.39 %, respectively.

This slowdown follows the peak reached in October 2025, with a historic high of over $126,000 for BTC, immediately followed by a $19 billion liquidation event on October 10. Thus, these inflows demonstrate that ETFs continue to represent a privileged gateway for institutional capital.

Bullish signals in a tense market

While these massive inflows into ETFs might suggest a general return of optimism, market sentiment indicators tell a different story.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures investors’ overall perception, returned to the extreme fear zone the Sunday before these flows, with a score of 25. Since early November, this indicator has oscillated between “fear” and “extreme fear”, reflecting caution, even distrust, among retail investors regarding recent fluctuations. In other words, capital is flowing in, but market psychology remains deeply marked by the year-end turmoil.

This divergence between general sentiment and institutional investors’ behavior is noted by several sector players. Tonso’s marketing director, known by the pseudonym “Wal”, stated on X (formerly Twitter): “Bitcoin ETFs are back. Many institutional investors sold their BTC in Q4 2025 for tax reasons. Now, they are reloading. This is just the beginning.”

This strategy, called “tax loss harvesting”, involves selling at a loss at year-end to optimize taxation, then reinvesting at the start of the new fiscal year. If this analysis holds, the massive inflows of January 2 could thus be only the first move, signaling a significant repositioning of funds in cryptocurrencies.

Flows into ETFs mark a renewed interest, but the dynamic is gradually reversing : altcoins are gaining ground while market attention shifts away from bitcoin. It remains to be seen whether this rebalancing will last or if it is just a temporary adjustment in a market still searching for direction.