Market analysts suggest that institutional investors might start focusing on altcoins with the introduction of new cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States.
In the first half of October, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) received at least five new altcoin ETF filings, despite the ongoing government shutdown causing some delays.
According to Leon Waidmann, head of research at the Web3 analytics firm Onchain, each approval could “open the door for the next wave of institutional buying.”
“The inflows into altcoin ETFs are the natural progression after institutional interest was confirmed by Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs,” Waidmann told Cointelegraph. “This reflects regulatory confidence translating into capital inflows.”
Ether ETFs Outperform Bitcoin ETF Inflows in Q3
During the third quarter of 2025, spot Ether (ETH) ETFs saw $9.6 billion in inflows, surpassing the $8.7 billion from spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF inflows, as reported by data aggregator SosoValue.
This change highlights increasing institutional interest in alternative cryptocurrency investments.
Waidmann commented that the emergence of altcoin ETFs could catalyze the next phase of institutional altcoin adoption, potentially leading to sustained inflows over several years.
“Institutions initially entered with Bitcoin ETFs, then transitioned to Ethereum, with other altcoins poised to follow.”
“Smart money” traders—the industry’s most accomplished investors as tracked by Nansen’s blockchain intelligence platform—are also preparing for the approval of altcoin ETFs.
The Uniswap (UNI), Aave (AAVE), and Chainlink (LINK) were the top three tokens held by smart money traders as of Thursday, according to data from Nansen.
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Nonetheless, some analysts worry that BlackRock’s absence from the altcoin ETFs could lead to limited overall inflows. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has raised $28.1 billion in investments so far in 2025, making it the only fund with positive year-to-date (YTD) inflows.
Without BlackRock’s involvement, the spot Bitcoin ETFs have faced a cumulative net outflow of $1.27 billion year-to-date, according to Vetle Lunde, head of research at K33.
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The lack of BlackRock in the altcoin ETF sector may constrain cumulative inflows and diminish their potential impact on the underlying tokens, the researcher elaborated.
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