Market analysts suggest that institutional investors might shift their focus towards altcoins as a new wave of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is set to launch in the United States.
Despite an ongoing US government shutdown causing delays, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) received at least five new altcoin ETF filings in early October.
Leon Waidmann, head of research at Web3 analytics firm Onchain, noted that each approval could “open the door for the next wave of institutional buying.”
“After Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs demonstrated institutional interest, altcoin ETF inflows are the inevitable next step,” Waidmann told Cointelegraph. “This reflects regulatory confidence leading to capital flows.”
Ether ETFs outshine Bitcoin ETF inflows in Q3
During the third quarter of 2025, spot Ether (ETH) ETFs attracted $9.6 billion in inflows, surpassing the $8.7 billion generated by spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF inflows, according to data aggregator SosoValue.
This shift indicates a rising institutional appetite for alternative crypto investments.
Waidmann believes that altcoin ETFs could spur a new era of institutional altcoin adoption, resulting in consistent inflows over the years.
“Institutions found Bitcoin via ETFs; now they’re transitioning to Ethereum, with other altcoins following next.”
Furthermore, the industry’s leading traders, identified as “smart money” on Nansen’s blockchain intelligence platform, are also positioning themselves ahead of potential altcoin ETF approvals.
The three tokens most held by smart money traders on Thursday were Uniswap (UNI), Aave (AAVE), and Chainlink (LINK), according to Nansen’s data.
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However, some analysts express concern that the absence of BlackRock from the altcoin ETF scene will lead to limited overall inflows, as BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has already secured $28.1 billion in investments in 2025, being the sole fund with positive year-to-date (YTD) inflows.
In the absence of BlackRock’s fund, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a cumulative net outflow of $1.27 billion year-to-date, according to K33’s head of research, Vetle Lunde.
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Lunde explained that based on the trends observed in Bitcoin ETF investments, BlackRock’s lack of involvement in the altcoin ETF wave could cap cumulative inflows and diminish their potential positive impact on the underlying tokens.
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