The 11 U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds have posted two consecutive months of net inflows, signaling renewed interest from institutions in the leading cryptocurrency. However, a broader perspective reveals a more subdued recovery than suggested by monthly trends. Over the past two months, ETFs have attracted $3.29 billion in investor funds, according to SoSoValue. May started positively, with ETFs logging a net inflow of $629 million.
This has increased 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 an all-time high of over $126,000. The discrepancy indicates that, although demand has rebounded, it has not yet offset the outflows between November 2025 and February 2026, during which investors withdrew $6.38 billion as bitcoin plummeted to nearly $60,000 from over $100,000.
This serves as a reality check, highlighting that the recovery in ETF flows is authentic but incomplete, with its future trajectory uncertain.