Bitcoin and Ether ETFs Pull $128M as Post-Midterm Rebound Takes Hold

US-listed spot Bitcoin and Ether ETFs drew a combined $128 million on Wednesday, snapping multi-day outflow streaks as crypto markets rebounded after the midterm elections. Bitcoin funds took in $74.6 million and Ether funds added $53 million, according to SoSoValue data.

The reversal mattered. Bitcoin ETFs had bled $1.16 billion over three straight losing sessions. Ether funds had it worse: seven consecutive days of outflows, totaling $657 million. Wednesday stopped both skids cold.

Bitcoin itself climbed back above $80,000. US stocks rallied in parallel, after Democrats notched midterm victories.

Who won and who kept bleeding?

Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) led the recovery with roughly $237 million in inflows. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) went the other way, shedding another $201.2 million per Farside Investors data.

That extends IBIT's outflow streak to four trading sessions, worth $935.2 million in total. The largest Bitcoin ETF by assets is now the market's heaviest seller even as the broader complex recovers.

The bleed had been slowing before it stopped. Withdrawals ran $399 million on Monday, then eased to $116 million on Tuesday. Wednesday's positive print narrowed Bitcoin ETFs' 2026 net outflows to roughly $79 million.

What does the election actually change for Bitcoin?

That's the practical question, and analysts split on the answer.

James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, argued Bitcoin had largely priced in a Democratic sweep before voters went to the polls. That left room for a relief rally once uncertainty cleared. He still cautioned against crediting the election too much for Bitcoin's move.

CK Zheng, co-founder of crypto hedge fund ZX Squared Capital and a former global head of risk at Credit Suisse, looks elsewhere entirely. He pointed to monetary liquidity, institutional flows and broader risk appetite as more immediate drivers of Bitcoin's price than any ballot result.

Zheng said spot Bitcoin ETFs and corporate treasury holdings can widen demand for BTC, but the same channels expose it to institutional selling pressure. Wednesday's IBIT numbers made that point on their own. The vehicles that brought Wall Street in can move size out just as fast.

The pattern cuts both ways, and the session showed it. Fidelity absorbed $237 million the same day BlackRock lost $201 million. Institutional flows now swing both directions through the same wrappers.

Related trading told a rougher story. Trump-linked tokens led crypto losses after the Democratic sweep, a reminder that election sensitivity runs hottest in the most speculative corners of the market.

What comes next?

The inflow print is one session. But it resets the baseline: Bitcoin ETFs sit near flat for 2026, at about $79 million net out, and the pressure that built through three down days has released. Whether IBIT's four-session streak breaks, or Fidelity's bid holds, will show up in the daily Farside numbers. Watch Thursday's flows.