[Digital Today reporter Yoonseo Lee] The United States has turned into a net bitcoin inflow country in 2026.

On Oct. 15 (local time), blockchain media outlet Bitcoin Magazine reported that on-chain analytics platform Chainalysis said in a recent report the United States recorded net bitcoin imports for the first time since 2022.

The shift coincides with buying moving to institutions. Chainalysis said it tallied that institutional investors are buying bitcoin this year while individual investors are selling. That means the structure of inflows has also changed as U.S. bitcoin demand is reshaped around institutions.

Spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were cited as a backdrop to the trend. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved spot bitcoin ETFs in January 2024. ETFs involving BlackRock, Fidelity and Morgan Stanley have since quickly established themselves as investment vehicles that track bitcoin prices.

Chainalysis noted that after the ETF approvals, the U.S. share of global bitcoin activity continued to rise in every reporting period. It said U.S. bitcoin influence has grown even though the U.S. crypto economy was tallied at $2.78 trillion after shrinking 2.2 percent during a bear market.

Overseas, dollar-pegged stablecoins are spreading quickly. Chainalysis said dollar stablecoins are a way to hold dollars without a U.S. bank account. It said demand is growing because, unlike in the United States where access to dollars is high, it is difficult to secure dollars in other countries.

Chainalysis said overseas investors are moving into digital dollars to meet demand to hold dollars, while Americans prefer bitcoin as a store of value with limited supply. It said bitcoin is increasingly treated as an investment asset in the United States, while outside the United States stablecoins are becoming practical tools for payments and remittances.

Stablecoins are playing a role in making U.S. debt the preferred currency in peer-to-peer economies and cross-border business. In 2026, new use cases increased particularly overseas, generating billions of dollars in economic activity for U.S. companies and the U.S. government in the process.

The regulatory environment is also supporting the trend. U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a series of crypto-friendly bills and executive orders since taking office. The GENIUS Act, signed in 2025, allowed banks and other businesses to issue stablecoins on the condition that they are backed by assets such as U.S. Treasuries and that reserve status is disclosed monthly.

As a result, the U.S. crypto market is strengthening a dual structure of bitcoin accumulation and exports of dollar stablecoins. Institutional money is concentrating in bitcoin at home, while demand for digital dollars is expanding overseas, extending U.S. financial influence along two tracks.