In the final days of August, Bitcoin made a comeback, reclaiming the lead in the crypto ETF competition. Spot Bitcoin funds absorbed $440.71 million in new investments, reversing the $1.17 billion outflow from the previous week and bringing the total net intake to $54.24 billion. Net assets now total nearly $140 billion, according to SoSoValue.
In contrast, Ethereum ETFs, which had once dominated, added only $1.08 billion during the same period. This is a striking contrast to the previous week: On Aug. 22, Ethereum products took in $2.85 billion, while Bitcoin slipped into the red.
This was quickly framed as the start of an “alt season,” but one week later, the story looks different. Bitcoin is back in the lead, and Ethereum’s numbers now appear to be a temporary spike rather than a real trend.
Game of dominance
The rotation is easiest to see when you compare it to Bitcoin’s dominance chart. After peaking above 66% in the early summer, the cryptocurrency’s share of the total crypto market cap has slid to around 58%. This decline has allowed altcoins to gain ground, but ETF flows suggest that when larger investors return to the market, they still favor Bitcoin.
Ethereum’s summer streak, with multiple weeks exceeding a billion dollars, was enough to narrow the gap, but not enough to change the underlying order. Institutional buyers appear to be using ETH as a satellite allocation while keeping BTC as the core. This explains why one week of Ethereum outpacing Bitcoin is quickly followed by a swing in the other direction.
August showed how ETF flows can swing from week to week while the dominance trend continues to favor Bitcoin. The $440 million inflow keeps Bitcoin in the lead, but the 58% dominance reading makes it clear that altcoins are still gaining ground.