US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds finished the first quarter of 2026 with net outflows, even after March delivered the category’s first monthly inflows of the year.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $1.32 billion in March inflows — the first monthly gain of 2026 and the first since October 2025, according to SoSoValue.
The inflows were not enough to offset monthly redemptions of $1.61 billion in January and $207 million in February, resulting in roughly $500 million in net outflows for Q1.
BTC fell more than 22% in Q1, its second consecutive quarterly decline after a 23% drop in Q4 2025.
Inflows despite persistent caution
March managed to clock inflows despite persistent investor caution, with the Crypto Fear & Greed Index largely hovering below 20 throughout the month — signaling “Extreme Fear” in the market.
Analysts pointed to the resilience of crypto investment products amid rising geopolitical tensions linked to the Middle East conflict.
Monthly trading volumes in spot Bitcoin ETFs eased to about $79 billion in March, compared with $93 billion in February and $87 billion in January.
Cumulative ETF inflows reached roughly $56 billion by the end of the quarter, while total assets under management stood at about $87.5 billion.
Ether leads losses, Solana stays green
Unlike Bitcoin ETFs, spot Ether ETFs closed March in negative territory, posting $46 million in net monthly outflows.
Ether recorded the largest quarterly losses among spot crypto ETFs, totaling $769 million across three consecutive months of outflows.
