Digital assets have attracted around $50 billion this year as recovering ETF flows and rising futures positions have strengthened investment momentum entering the fourth quarter, according to JPMorgan analysts. Summary $50 billion in inflows puts digital assets on an annualized pace of about $66 billion. ETF flows have turned positive for 2026 following a recovery that began in August. Bitcoin futures positioning on CME has exceeded its previous peak, according to the bank. Bitcoin miners have sold a net $1.8 billion this year, with listed companies driving sales. JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said in a Wednesday report that third-quarter investment activity had become less dependent on corporate Bitcoin purchases and venture funding, which supplied most inflows during the first half. At about $66 billion, the bank’s annualized inflow estimate exceeds the $52 billion pace recorded in May. Even after that improvement, the analysts put the current rate at roughly half last year’s pace. For the latest calculation, the team expanded its coverage to include digital asset purchases by private corporate treasuries, private miners and government-related entities. According to the report, its earlier estimates combined crypto fund flows, activity implied by CME futures, venture fundraising, and purchases by publicly listed miners and corporate treasuries. Crypto ETF flows have recovered from first-half withdrawals After heavy withdrawals in May and June, crypto ETF flows began improving in August and have returned to positive territory for the year, the report said. During the first half, the analysts identified fund redemptions as a drag on inflows, while Strategy’s Bitcoin purchases and venture financing provided most investment capital. Using a different starting date, however, the bank found that cumulative ETF flows remained negative from the market correction that began on Oct. 10, 2025. Its report therefore recorded positive flows for the calendar year alongside a remaining deficit over the period since that downturn. September’s U.S. fund activity provides context for the recovery. In a Sep. 24 report, crypto.news previously covered ETF buying and leverage, citing Bitfinex figures showing $999 million entering U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs on Sep. 21 and another $714.7 million on Sep. 22. In that coverage, Wojciech Kaszycki, strategy adviser to Bitcoin treasury company BTCS S.A., said cash purchases supported the rally’s initial stage before leveraged positions accumulated. He estimated that futures open interest had increased about 7% over a month, with funding running near 8% on an annualized basis. More recent U.S. sessions have included substantial redemptions. An Oct. 8 report on Bitcoin ETF withdrawals cited Farside Investors data showing $484.9 million leaving the funds on Oct. 7, their largest daily outflow since June 25. According to those figures, BlackRock’s IBIT lost $207.7 million, Fidelity’s FBTC shed $105.1 million, and ARK 21Shares’ ARKB recorded $101.7 million in withdrawals. Farside’s data also showed $160.9 million leaving U.S. spot Ether ETFs that day, extending their withdrawal streak to seven consecutive trading sessions. CME futures positions have risen over two months Alongside the ETF recovery, JPMorgan’s report identified renewed institutional positioning in Bitcoin and Ether futures on CME over the past two months, following a slow start to 2026. The analysts said Bitcoin positioning had surpassed its previous peak, while Ether positioning approached its October 2025 high. Their momentum indicators also showed trend-following traders, including commodity trading advisors, rebuilding long positions in both assets. “In Q3 both ETF flows and futures positioning have increased,” the analysts wrote, describing the combination as “positive flow momentum into Q4.” For offshore perpetual futures, the team compared outstanding positions with the market values of Bitcoin and Ether. According to its calculations, both leverage measures had declined from their peaks following the Oct. 10 correction but remained above historical averages. In the bank’s assessment, the third-quarter increase in ETF flows and futures positions pointed to more participation from retail and institutional investors than during the treasury-led first half. Corporate Bitcoin buying has relied on listed companies Among corporate treasuries, JPMorgan attributed most purchases to publicly listed businesses. Strategy bought Bitcoin rapidly early in the year and supplied a large share of total digital asset inflows, the analysts said. Private corporate treasuries purchased smaller amounts, which the team linked to less flexible financing options and lower tolerance for Bitcoin’s price swings. According to the report, public treasury companies funded purchases through common share issuance, debt and preferred shares. The financing mix has gradually moved toward preferred shares, while the analysts identified interest and dividend payments as continuing funding obligations. The bank had examined those obligations earlier in the year. A July 17 report on Strategy’s larger cash reserves said the company had increased its dollar balance from $2.55 billion to $3 billion, enough to cover approximately 20 months of preferred dividends. In that July assessment, JPMorgan said the additional cash reduced concerns that Strategy might need to sell Bitcoin to meet payments. The analysts had previously argued that reserves covering two to three years of preferred dividends would ease forced-sale concerns. Venture funding has favored larger rounds as miners sell Outside corporate treasuries, the latest report said crypto venture funding had improved since 2024, although capital increasingly went into fewer, larger rounds involving established businesses. For infrastructure companies with clearer cash flows, the analysts identified growing use of debt financing instead of equity fundraising. Their report also found more venture interest in tokenization, particularly projects serving business customers. On the supply side, JPMorgan estimated that Bitcoin miners had sold a net $1.8 billion this year, an amount the analysts described as modest. Publicly listed miners accounted for most of the change, according to the report. Rather than continuing to accumulate Bitcoin, the bank said listed miners had begun selling newly produced coins and, in some cases, reducing existing holdings to finance artificial intelligence infrastructure spending.
