The 11 US-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds have posted two consecutive months of net inflows, indicating renewed interest from institutions in the leading cryptocurrency. However, a broader perspective reveals a more subdued recovery than suggested by monthly headlines.
Over the past two months, ETFs have attracted $3.29 billion in investor funds, according to SoSoValue. May started positively, with a net inflow of $629 million on Friday, bringing the cumulative net inflows since January 2024 to $58.72 billion - still short of the record $61.19 billion in October, when bitcoin's spot price reached its all-time high of over $126,000.
The gap highlights that while demand has bounced back, it has not yet offset the outflows between November 2025 and February 2026, which saw $6.38 billion withdrawn as bitcoin's price plummeted to nearly $60,000 from over $100,000. This serves as a useful reminder of the current state of ETF flows compared to the peak of October's bullish sentiment, confirming that the recovery is genuine but incomplete, with its future momentum uncertain.