US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $996M in weekly net inflows, the most since early January, powered by a $663.9M Friday surge as geopolitical de-escalation triggered a risk-on wave. Total ETF AUM crossed $101B for the first time. BlackRock IBIT alone added $269.3M Thursday — its best day in a month. The flows pushed YTD net inflows back within $80M of positive territory after months of outflows.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $996M in weekly net inflows, the most since early January, powered by a $663.9M Friday surge as geopolitical de-escalation triggered a risk-on wave. Total ETF AUM crossed $101B for the first time. BlackRock IBIT alone added $269.3M Thursday — its best day in a month. The flows pushed YTD net inflows back within $80M of positive territory after months of outflows.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded nearly $1 billion in net inflows over the week ending April 18, marking their strongest weekly performance since early January when inflows reached approximately $1.4 billion.
Friday alone saw $663.9 million in inflows — the largest single day of the week — following a geopolitical catalyst: Iran's foreign minister announced the Strait of Hormuz would remain open during the ongoing ceasefire, sending oil prices plunging 10% and risk assets surging.
The weekly flow breakdown:
This is the third straight week of meaningful inflows, building on:
The trend is accelerating. Inflows have grown 27% week-over-week.
BlackRock's IBIT remains the dominant force with $1.5B in YTD net inflows and $64.3B in cumulative net inflows since launch. Morgan Stanley's MSBT also continued its streak with $103M cumulative inflows, surpassing WisdomTree despite launching just two weeks ago.
The $101B AUM milestone matters because it represents a new high-water mark for spot Bitcoin ETF assets. Despite Bitcoin being roughly 40% below its October 2025 all-time high of $126,000, ETF assets continue to grow — meaning inflows are outpacing price declines.
The YTD figure being just $80M from positive territory is significant. If the trend continues, next week could mark the first time in 2026 that cumulative spot BTC ETF inflows are net positive year-to-date. That would be a powerful signal for institutional Bitcoin demand.
Morgan Stanley digital asset head Amy Oldenburg told Bloomberg this week that MSBT was the bank's best-performing ETF launch ever, adding: "This is just the first of a long roadmap of new products."
Capital Group ($3.3T AUM) disclosed a 10.63% stake (136M shares, ~$203M) in Metaplanet, making it the largest shareholder of Japan's premier Bitcoin treasury company. The firm already holds a position in Strategy, now extending its Bitcoin treasury thesis across two jurisdictions.
T. Rowe Price, the $1.89 trillion asset manager, launched the T. Rowe Price Active Crypto ETF (TKNZ) on NYSE Arca — the first actively managed multi-token spot crypto exchange-traded product in the marketplace. The fund holds a diversified portfolio across Bitcoin, Ethereum, BNB, XRP, Solana, and Hyperliquid, with active allocation adjustments led by Blue Macellari, Head of Digital Assets since 2022.
The SEC approved an immediately effective rule change quadrupling IBIT options position limits from 250,000 to 1,000,000 contracts, enabling up to $5B in notional options exposure per participant. The approval landed the same day BlackRock reported record $15.3T AUM and $191.7B Q2 inflows, even as IBIT shed $3.3B during the quarter.