Ether ETFs have pulled in more money than bitcoin ETFs this year

Ether funds are winning the contest for new money this year, though not the contest for size. US spot ether ETFs have taken in about $1.5 billion in 2026, against roughly $985 million for spot bitcoin ETFs, according to a 24/7 Wall St. analysis of SoSoValue data published October 4.

The bitcoin number hides a turbulent year. Bitcoin funds lost about $5 billion in the first half before adding $6.3 billion in the third quarter. The net figure is small because two large moves in opposite directions nearly cancelled out. Ether's total was reached with less drama.

Flows are worth watching because they show where new money is going, as opposed to where old money already sits. By that measure, more of this year's fresh institutional demand has gone to ether. By the other measure, bitcoin is still far ahead. Its funds hold about $109 billion in assets against $18 billion for ether, roughly six times as much.

Neither group is at its high. Both are about 15% below their mid-January peaks.

The third-quarter rebound in bitcoin funds is a caution against reading too much into the gap. One strong quarter reversed half a year of outflows. Fourth-quarter flows will decide which asset finishes 2026 ahead.