Crypto ETFs: Big Money Moves in 2025
Bitcoin ETFs Lead the Charge
In 2025, US investors demonstrated a strong appetite for crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), injecting over $31.77 billion into the market despite a shaky crypto landscape towards the year's end.
- Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs remained the clear favorites, pulling in $21.4 billion, though this was a dip from the $35.2 billion seen in 2024.
- Ether (ETH) ETFs, launched in mid-2024, saw a fourfold increase in inflows, attracting $9.6 billion in their first full year.
- Newcomers like Solana (SOL) ETFs, introduced in late October, managed to rake in $765 million.
Regulatory Boost and Institutional Adoption
The crypto-friendly administration and new SEC leadership accelerated approvals for these investment products, fueling institutional adoption.
- BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) was a standout, with $24.7 billion in inflows, five times more than Fidelity's FBTC.
- IBIT's performance was so strong that it ranked sixth among all ETFs in net inflows, trailing only major index funds and a treasury bond ETF.
- Without IBIT, the other nine spot Bitcoin ETFs saw combined outflows of $3.1 billion, with Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust ETF losing around $3.9 billion.
Ethereum ETFs See Strong Inflows
In the Ethereum ETF space, BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) led with $12.6 billion in inflows, despite no inflows in the last 12 trading days.
- Fidelity's FETH and Grayscale's ETH rounded out the top three.
- Data from Glassnode indicated that demand for spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs has stalled in the past month, hinting at a slow start for these products in 2026.
New Altcoin ETFs Debut
Litecoin (LTC), Solana, and XRP ETFs also debuted in the latter half of 2025, offering investors more options to access major altcoins through regulated channels.
Looking Ahead to 2026
Industry experts predict a surge in crypto ETF approvals in 2026 due to the SEC's new generic listing standards. However, analysts like James Seyffart warn that many of these ETFs may not survive beyond 2027 due to low demand, with liquidations likely by the end of 2027.
