US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $996M in weekly net inflows, the most since early January, powered by a $663.9M Friday surge as geopolitical de-escalation triggered a risk-on wave. Total ETF AUM crossed $101B for the first time. BlackRock IBIT alone added $269.3M Thursday — its best day in a month. The flows pushed YTD net inflows back within $80M of positive territory after months of outflows.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $996M in weekly net inflows, the most since early January, powered by a $663.9M Friday surge as geopolitical de-escalation triggered a risk-on wave. Total ETF AUM crossed $101B for the first time. BlackRock IBIT alone added $269.3M Thursday — its best day in a month. The flows pushed YTD net inflows back within $80M of positive territory after months of outflows.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded nearly $1 billion in net inflows over the week ending April 18, marking their strongest weekly performance since early January when inflows reached approximately $1.4 billion.
Friday alone saw $663.9 million in inflows — the largest single day of the week — following a geopolitical catalyst: Iran's foreign minister announced the Strait of Hormuz would remain open during the ongoing ceasefire, sending oil prices plunging 10% and risk assets surging.
The weekly flow breakdown:
This is the third straight week of meaningful inflows, building on:
The trend is accelerating. Inflows have grown 27% week-over-week.
BlackRock's IBIT remains the dominant force with $1.5B in YTD net inflows and $64.3B in cumulative net inflows since launch. Morgan Stanley's MSBT also continued its streak with $103M cumulative inflows, surpassing WisdomTree despite launching just two weeks ago.
The $101B AUM milestone matters because it represents a new high-water mark for spot Bitcoin ETF assets. Despite Bitcoin being roughly 40% below its October 2025 all-time high of $126,000, ETF assets continue to grow — meaning inflows are outpacing price declines.
The YTD figure being just $80M from positive territory is significant. If the trend continues, next week could mark the first time in 2026 that cumulative spot BTC ETF inflows are net positive year-to-date. That would be a powerful signal for institutional Bitcoin demand.
Morgan Stanley digital asset head Amy Oldenburg told Bloomberg this week that MSBT was the bank's best-performing ETF launch ever, adding: "This is just the first of a long roadmap of new products."
Charles Schwab announced Schwab Crypto, offering direct spot BTC and ETH trading to retail clients via linked accounts with Paxos execution and 0.75% fees. With $12.2T in client assets and 39 million accounts, it's the largest traditional brokerage to offer direct crypto trading. The move caps a historic week that included Morgan Stanley's MSBT ETF launch and Goldman Sachs's Bitcoin income ETF filing.
MSBT has attracted over $103M in net inflows within its first week, surpassing WisdomTree WBTC ($86M accumulated since January 2024) and marking Morgan Stanley's most successful ETF launch ever. The 0.14% fee fund now has six consecutive days of inflows, while Goldman Sachs filed for a competing Bitcoin income ETF and BlackRock is preparing its own income-focused product.
MSBT reached $103M in AUM in just 8 days, overtaking WisdomTree's 15-month accumulation. The cheapest BTC ETF (0.14% fee) is winning through 16,000 financial advisor distribution, not just price competition.