Cryptocurrency

Bitcoin vs. Ethereum ETFs: Which Has More Room to Grow in 2026

By Sam Daodu
Published September 11, 2026, 8:31am ET · 3 min read

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Three green wooden blocks spelling 'ETF' in black capital letters are prominently displayed on a white surface, with blurred red and green financial chart patterns underneath. A blurry black magnifying glass and a colorful spiral-bound notebook with pink, green, and blue rings are in the soft-focus background.
Green blocks spelling 'ETF' sit on a financial chart, representing the focus on Exchange-Traded Funds in light of recent IRS notices concerning tax efficiency. © Ilyas nasrulloh / Shutterstock.com

Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC) spot ETFs attracted $3.8 billion in net inflows from August 18 to September 5, 2026, including $731 million on September 3, the biggest single-day inflow since January 14. Another $174.6 million came in on September 4, while Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) spot ETF inflows slowed sharply over the same period.

Ethereum spot ETFs still lead the 2026 flow race, with roughly $863 million in net inflows compared with about $1 billion in net outflows for Bitcoin spot ETFs. Price performance points in the opposite direction, with Ethereum up 33.04% from August 11 to September 10, compared with Bitcoin’s 22.96%, leaving a clear split between which asset is attracting ETF money and which has delivered the stronger recent price performance.

Bitcoin Is Closing the ETF Gap

Bitcoin Exchange-traded fund (ETF) launch concept

24K-Production / Shutterstock.com

Bitcoin’s September inflows are starting to narrow the gap with Ethereum, with $731 million entering spot ETFs on September 3, the group’s strongest single-day result since January 14, followed by another $174.6 million the next day. That sustained buying stands in contrast to Ethereum, where weekly inflows fell sharply before the funds recorded their first net outflow since August 11 on September 8.

The shift puts Ethereum’s 2026 lead under more pressure, especially if Bitcoin continues attracting large amounts of capital while Ethereum ETF inflows remain weak. Ethereum spot ETFs still have roughly $863 million in net inflows for the year, while Bitcoin spot ETFs remain about $1 billion negative, so Bitcoin needs several more strong weeks to erase the gap.

That makes the rest of September important for the ETF race because continued Bitcoin ETF inflows could push it closer to Ethereum’s year-to-date total, while a recovery in Ethereum demand would help the funds defend their lead.

ETF Flows and Price Performance Can Point in Different Directions

Three cryptocurrency coins, a silver Ripple coin, a gold Bitcoin coin, and a bronze-gold Ethereum coin, stand upright on three light brown wooden blocks. The blocks are arranged side-by-side and display black lowercase letters 'e', 't', and 'f' from left to right, spelling 'ETF'. The background is softly blurred with shades of green and white bokeh.

K.unshu / Shutterstock.com

ETF flows and asset growth measure different things because a fund’s assets can rise from both new money and gains in the underlying asset. A net inflow measures the difference between money used to create new ETF shares and money leaving through redemptions, while the fund’s total assets also change when the price of Bitcoin or Ethereum moves. That means a fund can gain assets even without attracting new money, or see its assets fall despite positive inflows if the underlying asset drops sharply.

That distinction is clear in the latest numbers. Ethereum gained 33.04% from August 11 to September 10, 2026, compared with 22.96% for Bitcoin, so Ethereum delivered the stronger price growth even as Bitcoin dominated recent ETF flows. The year-to-date picture is weaker for both assets, with Ethereum down 16.77% and Bitcoin down 10.94%, which shows why flow data alone cannot be used as a measure of which ETF group has grown faster.

A direct comparison of total category assets under management (AUM) is not possible because public trackers do not provide a comparable Ethereum spot ETF total, so using Bitcoin’s category AUM without an equivalent Ethereum figure would give a misleading result.

Bitcoin’s ETF Lead Has Already Started to Fade

Bitcoin’s recent ETF advantage has already weakened, with the funds recording $46.6 million in net outflows on September 8 and another $120.2 million on September 9 after taking in $730.8 million and $174.6 million on September 3 and 4. Ethereum also posted a $24.3 million outflow on September 8, but returned to a $34.7 million inflow the following day, giving the two fund groups a very different flow pattern heading into September 11.

That leaves Ethereum in the stronger position on the measures that can be checked today. It still leads Bitcoin on 2026 net ETF flows, while its 33.04% gain from August 11 to September 10 also exceeds Bitcoin’s 22.96% return. Bitcoin had the stronger burst of ETF demand in late August and early September, but that momentum has not held through the latest sessions, so there is no clear basis yet for calling it the faster-growing fund for the rest of 2026.

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Sam Daodu

Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.

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