While Ethereum (ETH) and XRP Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) ended March in negative territory, Bitcoin (BTC) funds recorded their best monthly performance of the year despite weak market sentiment and geopolitical tensions.
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Bitcoin ETFs End Negative Spell
Bitcoin ended the first quarter of 2026 by breaking out of a five-month negative streak, closing with a positive performance for the first time since September 2025. The flagship crypto has been in a downtrend over the past six months, retracing over 50% from its October all-time high of $126,000.
As its price closes the month in green, US spot BTC-based ETFs have also ended a multi-month negative spell on Tuesday. According to SoSoValue data, the funds pulled in $1.32 billion in March, registering their first monthly gain in 2026.
The category has been registering outflows since November, with cumulative outflows of around $6.3 billion until February. Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, previously highlighted that spot Bitcoin ETF investors have “largely displayed diamond hands” despite the ongoing market correction and negative sentiment.
As reported by NewsBTC, Geraci argued that the funds’ cumulative outflows since the October 10 crash were insignificant compared to the $56 billion in cumulative total net inflows the category has experienced since its January 2024 debut.
Despite the positive monthly close, BTC ETFs ended a four-week inflow streak after investors pulled out $296.18 million from the investment products. Additionally, the funds ended Q1 on a negative note, as March inflows couldn’t offset the $1.81 billion redemptions from January and February.
Therefore, spot Bitcoin ETFs closed the first quarter of 2026 with $496 million in outflows, their second-worst quarterly performance after Q4 2025’s $1.15 billion cumulative outflows.
Solana Leads Altcoin ETFs Performance
Similar to Bitcoin, Solana (SOL) ETFs closed March on a positive note and led altcoin-based funds, with inflows worth $45.44 million. This performance brought SOL investment products’ quarterly inflows to $213.1 million.
Notably, the category has not seen monthly outflows since its launch in October 2025, printing six consecutive months of inflows. Following this performance, Solana ETFs are near the $1 billion milestone, currently having cumulative net inflows of $979.3 million.
Nonetheless, Ethereum funds tell a different story, closing the month with $46 million in outflows. Unlike Bitcoin, the second-largest cryptocurrency extended its negative streak to five months, recording total outflows worth $3.21 billion since November.
In addition, ETH investment products saw $769 million outflows in Q1. CoinShares recent report noted that Ethereum led all assets in outflows last week, shedding over $200 million for the second straight week, which may signal that institutional demand for the second-largest cryptocurrency has been slowing.
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Meanwhile, XRP funds recorded their first monthly outflows after investors pulled $31.3 million from the ETFs. The category has recorded a remarkable performance since launching in November, with over $1.24 billion in inflows in the first four months.
It’s worth noting that despite the March setback, XRP ETFs saw positive net flows worth $42.52 million during the first quarter of 2026, only behind Solana funds.
Featured Image from Unsplash.com, Chart from TradingView.com
