In the third quarter of 2026, Bitcoin experienced a remarkable gain of 42.71%, marking its best third-quarter performance since 2017. This surge coincided with US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) attracting approximately $6.34 billion in net inflows.
These inflows represent a significant recovery from the $5 billion in net outflows recorded in the previous quarter. By the end of September, Bitcoin ETFs had accumulated $2.65 billion in net inflows, although this was a decrease from August's $3.52 billion.
September concluded on a weaker note, with Bitcoin ETFs facing around $149 million in net outflows, breaking a nine-day streak of inflows that had totaled about $3.1 billion.
In addition to Bitcoin, US spot Ether ETFs also saw considerable interest, attracting about $3.05 billion in Q3 after facing $714 million in outflows in the previous quarter. Ether itself gained approximately 71% during this period.
Other altcoin funds, such as XRP ETFs, reported $308 million in inflows, bringing their cumulative total to $1.79 billion. Solana and Zcash ETFs also performed well, with net inflows of $272 million and $246 million, respectively.