U.S. Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) ended the first quarter of 2026 with net outflows, even after March delivered the category’s first monthly inflows this year.
Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs recorded $1.32 billion in March inflows, the first monthly gain of 2026 and the first since October 2025, according to SoSoValue.
Inflows were not enough to offset monthly redemptions of $1.61 billion in January and $207 million in February, resulting in nearly $500 million of net outflows in the first quarter.
Outflows surged as Bitcoin fell more than 22% in the first quarter, the second straight quarterly decline after a 23% decline in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to CoinGlass.
The inflows come despite continued caution on the part of investors
However, March managed to record inflows to discover Bitcoin ETFs despite continued investor caution, with negative sentiment prevailing for most of the quarter. The Cryptocurrency Fear and Greed Index has been largely hovering below 20 all month, indicating “extreme fear” in the market.
Analysts noted the resilience of crypto investment products amid rising geopolitical tensions linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
In line with the weak sentiment, monthly trading volumes in spot Bitcoin ETFs fell to about $79 billion in March, compared to $93 billion in February and $87 billion in January.
Related to: Cryptocurrency funds are seeing their first outflow in five weeks amid inflation fears and tensions with Iran
Cumulative flows were approximately $56 billion at the end of the quarter, while total assets under management were approximately $87.5 billion at the end of the quarter.
Ether posted its worst quarterly losses, while XRP and Solana ETFs ended the first quarter in the green
In contrast to Bitcoin ETFs, Ethereum (ETH) ETFs closed the month of March in negative territory, recording net monthly inflows of $46 million.
Among spot cryptocurrency ETFs, Ethereum posted the largest quarterly losses, totaling $769 million with three straight months of outflows.
XRP ETFs (XRP) also saw outflows in March, totaling about $31 million. However, quarterly net flows remained positive at around $43 million.
Solana ETFs (SOL) continued to gain momentum during the quarter, with sequential inflows totaling $213 million. The funds did not record a month of outflows from their launch in October 2025, until the end of March 2026.
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