ETF Prime: Crypto ETF State of the Union & SEI's ETF Expansion

The state of the crypto ETF market and a remarkable ETF growth story headlined this week’s ETF Prime. Host Nate Geraci welcomed Roxanna Islam, head of sector and industry research at VettaFi, followed by Robert Hum of SEI.

• Bitcoin hit $80,000 after a Treasury buyback move weakened the dollar and reignited the debasement trade.
• Spot Bitcoin ETF flows remain down $2.5 billion year-to-date, despite a strong week of inflows.
• SEI’s ETF lineup more than tripled in assets over the past 12 months.

Islam opened with the catalyst behind crypto’s recent surge. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced plans to double long-end bond buybacks to at least $4 billion per operation. That weakened the dollar, reignited the debasement trade, and triggered a significant short squeeze.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin hit $80,000 over that stretch. Ethereum and Solana each gained more than 30%, and Hyperliquid surged nearly 50%.

On the flow side, spot bitcoin ETFs pulled in $2 billion in net inflows last week, while spot ether ETFs added nearly $900 million. Yet year-to-date, spot bitcoin ETF flows remain down $2.5 billion, Islam said.

Islam noted that flows have settled into a barbell pattern, with the IBIT ) and the FBTC ) anchoring one end, while lower-cost newcomers like the MSBT) attract the other.