Spot bitcoin ETFs post $998.95 million inflow, largest in 11 months

U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $998.95 million in net inflows on Monday, their largest daily inflow since Oct. 6, 2025, when inflows reached $1.2 billion. BlackRock's IBIT led the inflows with $381.4 million. Ark and 21Shares' ARKB recorded $289.1 million, and Fidelity's FBTC recorded $238.8 million. Funds from Grayscale, Bitwise and Morgan Stanley also recorded positive flows, according to SoSoValue data. Spot Ethereum ETFs recorded $269.98 million in net inflows on Monday, their largest single-day inflow since Oct. 7, 2025, according to SoSoValue data. Bitcoin briefly rose above $87,000 and reached around $87,300 earlier on Monday, its highest level since January 2026. It was trading up 4.7% over the previous 24 hours at $85,400 as of 3:00 a.m. ET Tuesday. Ether was up 2.5% at $2,730, according to The Block's price page. Min Jung, a research associate at Presto Research, said the move appeared to reflect renewed risk appetite, strong spot ETF demand and some short covering after bitcoin broke above key technical levels. Jung said the unusually large ETF inflows likely added momentum by signaling renewed institutional demand. Dominick John, an analyst at Zeus Research, said bitcoin's move above $85,000 signaled a broader repricing of risk supported by renewed institutional allocation, short covering and a more supportive macroeconomic backdrop. John said a sharp short squeeze further accelerated the momentum. CoinGlass data showed crypto liquidations of $1.06 billion over the previous 24 hours, including $844 million in short positions. Jeff Ko, chief analyst at ViaBTC, said the move appeared to be a technical breakout after bitcoin cleared the $82,000 level that had previously capped the market. Ko said the breakout likely brought systematic strategies back into the market. Jeff Mei, COO of BTSE, said institutional investors were returning to bitcoin because of favorable macroeconomic factors, including lower oil prices, easing Treasury yields and a meeting between Trump and Xi scheduled for that week that could lead to breakthroughs involving artificial intelligence, trade and the Iran conflict. John also said positive funding and elevated open interest pointed to renewed long exposure. He said continued short liquidations and persistent spot demand could extend the momentum. John said traders were watching whether bitcoin held above $85,000 and ether held above $2,700, while sustained spot ETF inflows would signal underlying demand.