IBIT Alone Powers Bitcoin ETF Inflows While Fidelity and Grayscale Bleed
By Coinvote
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs took in about $527 million on Monday, their strongest day since Sept. 22, yet BlackRock's IBIT alone brought in more than the entire total. With Ether funds still bleeding and a Federal Reserve meeting due on Oct. 27-28, October remains slightly negative.
One fund carries Monday's inflow
U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds attracted roughly $527 million of net money on Monday, the biggest single-day total since Sept. 22, according to Decrypt, CoinDesk and Cointelegraph. The headline number hides how narrow the buying was. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust, known as IBIT, took in $665.2 million by itself, which is more than the net total for all of the funds combined.
Two rivals moved in the opposite direction. Fidelity's FBTC lost $83.6 million and Grayscale's GBTC lost $54.9 million. The remaining funds recorded no flows at all, so the day's net result came down to one issuer's product. CoinDesk added that IBIT's inflow was its biggest since Oct. 7 last year.
The numbers behind the rebound
The figures below are the ones the three outlets agree on or report most consistently.
- Net inflow for the day: $526.7 million, or $526.6 million in CoinDesk's SoSoValue-based count.
- IBIT: $665.2 million in inflows.
- FBTC: $83.6 million in outflows.
- GBTC: $54.9 million in outflows.
- Previous larger day: $714.7 million on Sept. 22.
- Month to date: still negative by about $88 million, or $90.5 million by CoinDesk's calculation.
Two weeks of selling came first
The inflow interrupted a stretch of withdrawals. Cointelegraph reported that the funds shed about $229 million last week after losing $681 million the week before. Decrypt put the two-week total at about $910 million, and noted that Friday closed with another $82.4 million of net selling.
The worst session in that run came on Oct. 7, when the funds lost about $485 million, their largest daily exit since June. CoinDesk reported that Monday's net buying exceeded the $228.5 million the funds lost over the previous week. Even so, the funds are still below where they started October, with nine trading sessions left, according to Decrypt.
Where the three accounts differ
The outlets rely on different trackers, and small gaps appear in their figures. Decrypt and Cointelegraph cite Farside Investors for the flow data, while CoinDesk uses SoSoValue. The daily total is $526.7 million in two reports and $526.6 million in CoinDesk's, and the October shortfall is $88 million in two reports but $90.5 million in CoinDesk's. The Oct. 7 outflow is $484.9 million in Decrypt and $483.9 million in Cointelegraph. None of the outlets explains these gaps.
Each outlet also adds something the others lack. CoinDesk places IBIT's inflow against its own history. Cointelegraph supplies the weekly Ether figures. Decrypt is the only one to connect the flows to oil, inflation and bond yields, so that link is its interpretation rather than a shared finding.
Decrypt links the flows to oil, inflation and yields
Decrypt reported that Bitcoin traded near $82,000 on Monday. Nexo analyst Iliya Kalchev, cited by the outlet, put the ETF holders' average cost basis at about $82,300. Cost basis is the average price investors paid, which means a market price close to that level leaves the typical holder close to even. CoinGecko data shows Bitcoin at $82,720 now, up 1.3% over 24 hours.
Decrypt describes a chain of pressures. Brent crude traded between $108 and $110 a barrel after weekend attacks on Persian Gulf tankers, and consumer prices rose 3.7% in the 12 months through September, with energy up 20.4%. According to Decrypt, September brought a quarter-point increase in the Federal Reserve's target range, while Monday's 10-year Treasury yield remained above 5%.
Decrypt argues that Bitcoin, which pays no yield, competes with Treasuries that return more than 5% with less price risk. It points to two days as evidence. The $484.9 million exit on Oct. 7 came when the 30-year yield touched about 5.7%, and $261.4 million left on Oct. 14, the day the September inflation report was released. The outlet presents this as a pattern in timing, and the other two outlets do not make the same claim.
Ether and Solana funds went the other way
Decrypt reported that spot Ether ETFs shed $103 million on Monday, marking a fourth consecutive day of net selling. CoinDesk put the figure at $103.3 million and attributed $95.4 million of it to BlackRock's ETHA. Cointelegraph added that Ether funds lost about $320 million last week, their third consecutive week of net withdrawals.
Decrypt also reported that Solana ETFs lost $6.7 million. Netted against those losses, Bitcoin, Ether and Solana funds together still drew roughly $417 million. BlackRock therefore appeared on both sides of the ledger, with IBIT leading Bitcoin inflows and ETHA leading Ether outflows on the same day.
What to watch before the month ends
The Federal Reserve meets on Oct. 27-28, and Decrypt frames inflation as the reason the central bank may lean toward another increase. Whether fund flows react to that decision is an open question, as is whether Monday's strength was a one-day event.
Two other points are worth tracking. One is whether other issuers return to inflows, since Monday's buying rested on a single fund. The other is whether Ether funds extend their outflow streak beyond four sessions. Readers comparing flow data should also note which tracker a figure comes from, because Farside and SoSoValue totals can differ slightly.
Market snapshot
| Asset | Price | 24h | 7d | Market cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | $82,720 | +1.3% | -0.8% | $1.66 trillion |
| Ethereum (ETH) | $2,442 | +2.0% | -2.5% | $298.22 billion |
CoinGecko data as of 2026-10-21 (UTC).
FAQ
How much did U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs take in on Monday?
They took in about $527 million on a net basis, the largest single-day amount since Sept. 22. BlackRock's IBIT brought in $665.2 million, while Fidelity's FBTC and Grayscale's GBTC lost $83.6 million and $54.9 million.
Are Bitcoin ETFs positive for October after Monday?
No. Decrypt and Cointelegraph, citing Farside figures, put October at about $88 million in the red. CoinDesk, using SoSoValue data, calculated a shortfall of about $90.5 million.
What happened to Ether ETFs on the same day?
Spot Ether ETFs shed about $103 million, extending net selling to a fourth consecutive day. CoinDesk attributed $95.4 million of that total to BlackRock's ETHA.
Sources
- Decrypt: Bitcoin ETFs Post Their Best Day in Nearly a Month as BlackRock Does All the Buying (2026-10-20)
- CoinDesk: Bitcoin ETFs just saw their biggest day in a month thanks entirely to BlackRock (2026-10-20)
- Cointelegraph: US Bitcoin ETFs draw $527M in biggest showing since September (2026-10-20)
- CoinGecko (market data)
Written by the Coinvote news desk from reporting by Decrypt, CoinDesk and Cointelegraph. Not financial advice.
