Bitcoin spot ETFs log seven straight days of inflows; 2026 year-to-date flows turn positive

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs extended their winning streak on Friday, posting net inflows of $134.5 million, according to Decrypt's tracker. The move marked seven consecutive trading days of inflows, with the group pulling in about $2.98 billion since the streak began on September 17. The recent rebound follows a sharp mid-September pullback tied to Washington headlines. After the Senate failed to advance the Clarity Act, the ETF complex recorded net outflows of $450.4 million on September 15—its worst single-day result since June—followed by another $295.9 million leaving on September 16, Decrypt data show. The subsequent inflow wave has been roughly four times the combined outflows over those two sessions. Spot Bitcoin ETFs hold actual Bitcoin, giving investors exposure through traditional brokerage accounts without using crypto exchanges, wallets, or seed phrases. Their daily subscriptions and redemptions are widely watched as a proxy for institutional demand. The biggest one-day burst in the current run came on September 21, when net inflows approached $1 billion, the strongest single-day performance since October 2025. Decrypt reported Tuesday that the inflow surge also helped lift Bitcoin above the estimated average cost basis for typical ETF holders, pegged by Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart at $81,722—the first time since January that the average fund investor returned to profitability. The streak has also flipped the year's flow tally. Farside Investors data show 2026 year-to-date net flows turned positive at $886.8 million as of Thursday, reversing roughly $6.6 billion from the $5.69 billion net outflow recorded as of July 13. Friday's inflows would likely push the total above $1 billion, though estimates vary across trackers; Bloomberg's year-to-date figure earlier this week was about $320 million. Decrypt's tracker puts cumulative net inflows since launch at $58 billion. Total net assets stand at $108.42 billion, with Bitcoin trading around $84,020. Even with the turnaround, the 2026 pace still trails last year's haul. Farside data show the products attracted $21.35 billion in 2025. Matching that would require average daily inflows of about $300 million through the end of December, and the current streak has already exceeded that daily run rate.