Bitcoin ETFs turn positive for 2026 at $787 million, but $6.1 billion came in since August

U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds are back in positive territory for 2026. After six straight days of buying, net inflows for the year reached about $787 million through Thursday, according to SoSoValue data cited by Cointelegraph. CoinDesk, using the same source, puts the figure at nearly $800 million and says the funds were down $5.8 billion for the year at their low on July 13. Cointelegraph puts the deficit at about $5.5 billion at the end of June.

Bitcoin traded at $83,815 on Coinbase at about 9:50 a.m. New York time, down 0.5% from the day's open. CoinDesk says the coin has risen from under $58,000 in early June.

The number behind the number: the year's inflow is two months old

"Positive for the year" makes it sound like steady demand. The monthly figures say otherwise. Cointelegraph reports $3.52 billion of inflows in August and $2.56 billion so far in September, a total of about $6.08 billion. Subtract that from the year-to-date $787 million and the funds were down roughly $5.3 billion for the first seven months combined. Every dollar of the 2026 gain arrived after July.

Measured against earlier years, 2026 is still small: the year-to-date total is about 2% of 2024's inflow and under 4% of 2025's, using CoinDesk's full-year figures.

The streak is losing speed

The six-day run has brought in $2.84 billion. But the daily pace peaked at $999 million on Monday, the biggest day of 2026, and fell for three sessions in a row to about $191 million on Thursday, a drop of 81%, according to Cointelegraph. That slowdown tracks the price: bitcoin retreated from above $87,000 over the same days.

CoinDesk notes that only two earlier six-day streaks are on record, in February 2024 ($2.35 billion) and November 2024 ($4.73 billion). This one sits between them.

The buying is concentrated. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) took about $163 million of Thursday's total and roughly $1.35 billion over the six sessions, close to half the group, per Farside Investors data cited by Cointelegraph.

What crypto traders are watching

• Resistance near $87,000. Saxo Bank strategist Koen Hoorelbeke identified that level, where the advance stalled on Sept. 21, with support between $76,000 and $77,000, Cointelegraph reported.
• Cheap options. Saxo put IBIT's implied volatility at 37.4%, below the 45.5% the fund actually moved over the prior 20 sessions. The options market is pricing a calmer period than the one just seen.
• Friday's expiry. About $14 billion in bitcoin options were set to expire on Deribit on Friday, CoinDesk said.
• Rates. CoinDesk linked nearly $4 billion of the inflows to the period since the Treasury's August move to step up its bond buybacks, a program we explained here. With the 10-year yield near 5.17%, the bond market remains the backdrop for every flow day.

Daily prices for bitcoin, ether and the rest of the board are in today's crypto prices report.

Sources: CoinDesk; Cointelegraph; SoSoValue and Farside Investors data as reported by those outlets; Coinbase Exchange. The January-to-July figure and the percentage comparisons are Chronicle calculations. This is market information, not investment advice.