BlackRock Leads $4.5B ETF Surge as Bitcoin Hits Record High: Altcoin Funds Next?

Institutional demand roared back to start October, with crypto ETFs posting a record $4.5 billion in combined weekly inflows. Bitcoin funds drew $3.24 billion across five straight “green” sessions, helping BTC notch a new all-time high near $126,200. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) led the charge, capturing $1.82 billion for the week and $970 million in a single day, while Fidelity’s FBTC, ARK 21Shares’ ARKB, Bitwise’s BITB, and VanEck’s HODL added hundreds of millions more. Trading activity was equally torrid as Bitcoin ETF volume topped $26 billion for the week and net assets jumped to $164.5 billion, underscoring that flows, not leverage, are driving this leg higher. Ether ETFs Gain Traction as Diversification Builds Ether ETFs added $1.30 billion over the same stretch, also logging five straight days of inflows. BlackRock’s ETHA dominated with $691.7 million, followed by Fidelity’s FETH ($305.3 million), while Bitwise and Grayscale mini trusts contributed steady additions. ETH ETF volumes reached $9.9 billion and net assets climbed to $30.57 billion, signaling that institutional allocators are broadening beyond BTC, often pairing a Bitcoin core position with an Ethereum “growth” sleeve tied to staking yield, Layer-2 expansion, and smart-contract dominance. Technically, ETH is holding above key supports as it eyes $4,750–$4,800; a decisive break could magnet $5,000, adding fresh fuel to ETF demand and year-end portfolio rebalancing. Are Altcoin Funds Next After Bitcoin and Ethereum? With Bitcoin and Ether cementing their ETF beachhead, attention is shifting to potential altcoin products. Markets are tracking deadline windows and updated S-1s for large-cap names, commonly cited: Solana (SOL), XRP, Dogecoin (DOGE), and Litecoin (LTC), as issuers push to expand the investable crypto toolkit. Any green lights here would unlock fresh mandate-driven flows, deepen liquidity, and extend the rotation now visible across large caps. What to watch in Q4: Sustained ETF inflows (pace and breadth across issuers). AUM milestones (IBIT eyeing over $100 billion), a key sentiment catalyst for institutions on the sidelines. Altcoin ETF headlines that could kick off the next leg of diversification. BlackRock’s leadership in spot Bitcoin ETF inflows capped a blockbuster week that pushed BTC to records and lifted total crypto AUM. With Ether ETFs surging and altcoin funds on the horizon, the Q4 playbook increasingly favors accumulation on dips as long-only capital turns crypto into a core allocation, not a trade. Cover image from ChatGPT, BTCUSD chart from Tradingview