Last week, the cryptocurrency investment landscape saw a big leap in interest, particularly in bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which attracted a record $2.4 billion of the $2.45 billion that flowed into digital asset investment products.
This insight comes from CoinShares, a leading crypto asset management firm, highlighting a remarkable shift towards newly approved U.S.-based spot bitcoin ETFs.
This influx into bitcoin ETFs overshadowed the $623 million outflows from Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), previously the leading fund before transitioning to an ETF structure. Among the newcomers, BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC were the standout performers, securing $1.6 billion and $648 million, respectively, in the past week alone.
The trend is not isolated to bitcoin. Overall, crypto funds managed by giants like BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity, Grayscale, ProShares, and 21Shares experienced record global inflows totaling $2.45 billion last week. This surge has propelled year-to-date inflows to digital asset investment products to a staggering $5.2 billion.
According to James Butterfill, Head of Research at CoinShares, the assets under management (AUM) at these crypto investment firms have now reached $67 billion, the highest since the peak of the last bull market in December 2021. This growth is not just due to new investments but also recent price upticks in the cryptocurrency market.
The United States has been the leader of these developments, accounting for 99% of the weekly inflows. In contrast, European funds in Switzerland and Germany saw modest inflows, while Sweden faced the largest regional outflows.
The overwhelming preference for bitcoin investment products, which made up 99% of the last week’s inflows, signals a strong investor interest in the new U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs. There was also a strong increase in short positions on bitcoin, with $5.8 million flowing into short-bitcoin products.
Altcoins also saw some action, with Ether leading the pack with $21.1 million in inflows. Avalanche, Chainlink, and Polygon funds each received around $900,000 to $1 million amid continued investor interest. However, Solana products faced $1.6 million in outflows, possibly affected by the network’s recent issues.
Blockchain equity ETFs experienced a pullback, with investors withdrawing $167 million last week, taking profits amidst the broader crypto market’s fluctuations.
Read More: Bitcoin ETFs see record $2.4 billion inflows last week