Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded their highest daily inflow in three months on January 5, with approximately $695 million flowing in. This positive trend emerged as institutional investment demand is expected to rebound sharply in early 2026.
The driver behind this recent surge has been BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which raised $371.9 million. Following closely was Fidelity's FBTC, which raised $191.2 million. The data was confirmed by SoSoValue.
Institutional, record inflows into Bitcoin ETFs
In fact, institutional investor demand saw a sharp recovery in early 2026, with $671 million flowing in on Friday.
Strong inflows have been uniformly observed across the ETF space, indicating it was not a single fund allocation. Bitwise's BITB added $38.5 million, and ARK's ARKB saw $36 million in inflows. Invesco, Franklin Templeton, Valkyrie, and VanEck also recorded net inflows.
Notably, Grayscale's existing GBTC had a net outflow of 0 on this day. This is a significant turning point considering that more than $25 billion has been withdrawn since the transition to the trust structure.
Trading activity has also increased alongside inflows, with signals of re-engagement from institutional investors that were quiet in December.
The simultaneous buying pressure appears to be more of a portfolio rebalancing rather than speculative momentum chasing. Bitcoin maintained above $90,000 throughout the session.
Institutional investors' interest is not limited to Bitcoin. Whale Insider reported that BlackRock clients purchased 31,737 ETH (Ethereum), which is approximately $10.2 million.
This indicates that Ethereum is also being continuously accumulated alongside spot Bitcoin. On Friday, $168.13 million flowed into spot ETH ETFs.
This movement suggests that large asset allocators are expanding positions in various digital assets. Cryptocurrencies are increasingly being reflected deeply in long-term investment strategies.
BlackRock, redefines 'crypto as financial infrastructure'
The timing of ETF fund inflows coincides with when BlackRock announced new investment outlooks. BlackRock has redefined digital assets as a core component of the global financial system, not as an experimental asset class.
In the report, BlackRock claims that the role of cryptocurrencies is shifting from speculative trading to infrastructure. Specifically, it includes the following.
Payment functionality
Liquidity rails
Tokenization
Stablecoins are addressed significantly in this argument. BlackRock described them as a bridge between traditional finance and digital liquidity. It was also mentioned that in some countries, dollar-based stablecoins could potentially replace local currencies.
BlackRock warns that due to this trend, deposits and revenues are already shifting towards cryptocurrency-centered products, putting pressure on the banking sector.
ETF approvals are regarded as institutional-level verifications rather than regulatory experiments. According to BlackRock, the existence and rapid growth of cryptocurrency ETFs indicate that global capital managers are practically embracing digital assets. They are actively reflecting this in standard portfolio compositions.
The report stated that artificial intelligence is also at the center of current macroeconomic changes. Changes in energy demand, productivity, and capital allocation driven by AI are accelerating structural transformations across the market.
As a result, BlackRock claims that traditional market cycles are breaking down and transitioning into capital concentration and long-term theme exposure.
In such an environment, BlackRock warns that one should be cautious of the 'illusion of diversification.' It points out that the same macroeconomic factors are increasingly moving more traditional assets.
BlackRock suggests that digital assets are emerging as alternative investment avenues because they operate under a different structure from traditional assets.
The inflow of ETFs on January 5 seems to reflect this perspective in real time. Participation has taken place from almost all major issuers, and since there have been no additional outflows from GBTC, the data shows a mature ETF market where institutions are allocating cautiously.