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Recovery in bitcoin ETF inflows is real. It is just not complete yet.

By Omkar Godbole · Published May 4, 2026 · 3 min read · Source: CoinDesk
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Recovery in bitcoin ETF inflows is real. It is just not complete yet.

While ETF inflows have resumed, the recovery has yet to match last fall’s peak.

By Omkar Godbole|Edited by Sam ReynoldsUpdated May 4, 2026, 7:38 a.m. Published May 4, 2026, 7:14 a.m. 1 min readMake preferred on
ETFs (Markus Winkler/Pixabay, modified by CoinDesk)
Spot ETFs are yet to match last fall's peak. (Markus Winkler/Pixabay, modified by CoinDesk)

What to know:

The 11 U.S.-listed spot bitcoin BTC$79,854.07 exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have now recorded two consecutive months of net inflows in a sign of renewed institutional appetite for the leading cryptocurrency.

But zoom out, and the recovery looks more modest than the monthly headlines suggest.

ETFs have pulled in a total of $3.29 billion in investor funds over the past two months, according to data source SoSoValue. May began on a positive note, with ETFs registering a net inflow of $629 million on Friday.

That has lifted the cumulative net inflows since the launch in January 2024 to $58.72 billion, which is still shy of the record high of $61.19 billion in October. It's also the month when bitcoin's spot price hit its lifetime peak of over $126,000.

The gap shows that, though demand has recovered, it has yet to compensate for the outflows between November 2025 and February 2026. The four-month stretch saw investors yank $6.38 billion alongside a sharp slide in bitcoin to nearly $60,000 from over $100,000.

It's not necessarily a reason for alarm, but a useful reality check on where things stand compared to the peak of October's bullish sentiment. It tells us that the recovery in ETF flows is real but incomplete. Whether it gains enough momentum remains to be seen in the days ahead.

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