Institutional investors may turn their attention to altcoins as the next wave of cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) arrives in the United States, according to market analysts.<\/p>\n
The US Securities and Exchange Commission<\/a> (SEC) received at least five new altcoin ETF filings<\/a> during the first half of October, despite the ongoing US government shutdown stalling progress.<\/p>\n Each approval could \u201copen the door for the next wave of institutional buying,\u201d said Leon Waidmann, head of research at Web3 analytics firm Onchain.<\/p>\n \u201cAltcoin ETF inflows are the inevitable next step after Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs proved institutional demand,\u201d Waidmann told Cointelegraph. \u201cThis is regulatory confidence translating into capital flows.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Spot Ether (ETH<\/a>) ETFs attracted $ 9.6 billion in inflows during the third quarter of 2025, surpassing the $8.7 billion generated by spot Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) ETF inflows, according to data<\/a> aggregator SosoValue.<\/p>\n That shift signals increasing institutional demand for alternative crypto exposure.<\/p>\n The trend may see the altcoin ETFs catalyzing the next wave of institutional altcoin adoption as new regulated vehicles, resulting in years of sustained inflows, Waidmann said.<\/p>\n \u201cInstitutions found Bitcoin via ETFs, now they\u2019re moving into Ethereum, and other altcoins are coming next.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The industry\u2019s most successful traders, tracked as \u201csmart money<\/a>\u201d traders on Nansen\u2019s blockchain intelligence platform, are also positioning themselves for the approval of altcoin ETFs.<\/p>\n The Uniswap (UNI<\/a>), Aave (AAVE<\/a>) and Chainlink (LINK<\/a>) were the three most held tokens by smart money traders on Thursday, data<\/a> from Nansen shows.<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>Crypto treasuries siphon $800B from altcoins, and it might be \u2018forever\u2019<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n However, some analysts are concerned that BlackRock\u2019s absence from<\/a> the altcoin ETFs will result in limited overall inflows, as BlackRock\u2019s Bitcoin ETF has amassed $28.1 billion in investments so far in 2025, making it the only fund to log positive year-to-date (YTD) inflows.<\/p>\n Without BlackRock\u2019s fund, the spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded a cumulative net outflow of $1.27 billion year-to-date, according<\/a> to K33\u2019s head of research, Vetle Lunde.<\/p>\nEther ETFs surpass Bitcoin ETF inflows in Q3<\/h2>\n