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.
Bitcoin ETFs End Negative SpellBitcoin 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.
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.
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 PerformanceSimilar 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.
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.
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.
