Why does Bitcoin dominate 70% of institutional allocations behind the $31 billion inflow

In 2025, a total of approximately $31 billion flowed into spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, but the distribution of this money is not even. According to the latest data, Bitcoin ETFs maintained a stable share of 70%-85% throughout the year, while Ethereum accounted for only 15%-30%, with long-tail assets being even more negligible. This structural difference reflects fundamentally different attitudes among institutional investors toward various crypto assets.

Why Institutional Funds Favor Bitcoin

The true meaning behind ETF share distribution

Institutions continue to buy Bitcoin through ETFs not for speculation but as a macro hedge asset or “digital commodity.” This positioning is crucial—it means institutions view Bitcoin as a strategic asset similar to gold, rather than a high-risk crypto investment.

Why is Ethereum’s share relatively low?

Although Ethereum is the second-largest crypto asset globally, its proportion in institutional ETF allocations is far below market expectations. This reflects several realities:

• Institutions’ understanding of Ethereum’s use cases is less clear than Bitcoin’s
• Bitcoin’s positioning as “digital gold” makes it more easily recognized by traditional funds
• The complexity of Ethereum (staking, gas fees, etc.) offers limited appeal to institutional investors
• However, it’s worth noting that Ethereum’s share is gradually increasing from low levels, indicating a slow growth in institutional acceptance

Market Opportunities in Long-Tail Assets

Assets like XRP, SOL, LINK, LTC, DOGE, etc., currently hold very small ETF market shares, with most products only approved to launch by the end of 2025. While this may seem like a disadvantage, it actually contains opportunities.

Related information shows that during the first trading week of 2026, despite a net outflow of $75 million from Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, new ETFs for XRP and Solana experienced counter-trend inflows. XRP funds saw a net inflow of $38.1 million, with weekly trading volume reaching a record $219 million. This indicates:

• Institutions are beginning to explore ETF allocations for long-tail assets
• Although new asset ETFs are small in scale, they have strong growth momentum
• The market is evolving from “Bitcoin dominance” to a more balanced “multi-asset” approach

Recent Changes and Trends

Notably, a few days before the press release (January 13), the total assets under management (AUM) of Bitcoin ETFs had already reached $116.9 billion. This means:

• Despite short-term outflows, Bitcoin ETFs still hold strong long-term appeal
• The trend of institutional funds “settling” into the crypto market is clear
• ETFs have become the main channel for institutions to access crypto assets

From a longer-term perspective, the scale and methods of institutional crypto asset allocations via ETFs in 2025 have become a key support for market stability. Bitcoin’s price hovers around $92,322, with a market cap of $1.84 trillion, accounting for 58.72% of the entire crypto market. These figures are closely tied to ongoing institutional buying.

Summary

The inflow of approximately $31 billion into ETFs, with 70%-85% flowing into Bitcoin and 15%-30% into Ethereum, clearly reflects the current institutional investment logic: Bitcoin is the primary choice, Ethereum is supplementary, and long-tail assets are the future.

This does not mean the market is pessimistic about Ethereum and other assets; rather, institutions are voting with their feet—they prioritize the clearest and easiest-to-understand assets as the core of their crypto allocations. However, the trend of gradually increasing Ethereum’s share and the counter-trend inflows into new asset ETFs suggest that this pattern is not fixed. Over time and with deeper market education, long-tail assets may attract more institutional capital.