US Bitcoin Funds Draw $524.8 Million as Ethereum Flows Turn Positive
Key Facts
US spot bitcoin funds attracted net inflows of $524.8 million in the session on 21 October 2026, according to Farside Investors tables, as inflows accelerated from the previous session. The funds had drawn $23.2 million in the session on 20 October, bringing daily inflows back close to the level recorded at the start of the week. Net inflows on 19 October totaled $526.7 million, slightly above the latest session's total. Meanwhile, US spot ethereum funds recorded net inflows of $14.9 million in the session on 21 October, turning positive again. The acceleration in bitcoin inflows thus coincided with money returning to ethereum products, although daily inflows into the latter remained much smaller.
BlackRock's IBIT led bitcoin products in attracting money in the session on 21 October 2026, with net inflows of $235.0 million, according to Farside Investors. Fidelity's FBTC followed with $212.7 million, putting the two firms' products at the forefront of inflows that session. Positive flows extended to GBTC, which drew $32.6 million, exceeding the amount attracted by each of the other funds in this group. BITB recorded inflows of $19.2 million, while ARKB attracted about $9.8 million. Grayscale's fund trading under the ticker BTC also drew $8.2 million, compared with $7.3 million for EZBC. Flows into all these products moved in the same direction, with each remaining below the amounts attracted by the BlackRock and Fidelity funds.
Among ethereum funds, flows diverged across products during the session on 21 October, according to Farside Investors tables. BlackRock's ETHA recorded net outflows of $29.3 million, against inflows into other products. Fidelity's FETH attracted $13.0 million, while Grayscale's fund trading under the ticker ETH drew $28.1 million. The shift in aggregate ethereum flows into positive territory followed net outflows of $26.1 million in the session on 20 October. The session on 19 October had seen larger outflows of $103.3 million, marking a shift from money leaving the funds in the previous two sessions to inflows in the latest session.
The movement of money into bitcoin products comes in a market where the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the listing and trading of spot products on 10 January 2024. The SEC's approval at the time covered shares of several exchange-traded products linked to spot bitcoin. The SEC said in its statement that the approval concerned the "listing and trading of shares of a number of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products." An official investor bulletin published on the SEC's investor website explains that spot bitcoin and ethereum products provide exposure to the price of the crypto asset. They do so, according to the bulletin, "by holding the crypto asset itself," a mechanism that links price exposure to holdings of bitcoin or ethereum within the product.
In a subsequent regulatory development concerning how these products operate, the SEC on 29 July 2025 permitted in-kind share creations and redemptions. The decision covered shares of crypto asset exchange-traded products, allowing authorized participants to carry out these transactions. The SEC explained that the permission concerned "in-kind creations and redemptions by authorized participants." In a statement on the cash redemption model, SEC Commissioner Mark Uyeda said authorized participants must redeem product shares for US dollars. He added that this model requires the product issuer to "buy or sell the crypto asset in the open market," explaining the link between settling redemptions in cash and transacting directly in the asset.
In trading, bitcoin rose 1.28% to $84,078.1 on 21 October 2026, according to historical data from Investing.com. The website reported in its coverage that the cryptocurrency extended gains on Wednesday, supported by risk appetite on Wall Street. It also noted, however, that rising oil prices limited bitcoin's advance during trading. The website said "risk appetite on Wall Street remained elevated," while "rising oil prices capped bitcoin's gains." Among upcoming events, the Federal Reserve will hold its Federal Open Market Committee meeting on 27 and 28 October 2026, according to the official calendar published on its website.