Bitcoin spot ETF anticipation fuels largest crypto fund inflows for two years: CoinShares

Quick Take

  • Digital asset investment products recorded the largest inflows since late 2021 last week, adding $346 million led by bitcoin and ether-based funds, according to CoinShares.
  • Anticipation of a U.S.-based spot bitcoin ETF fueled the surge, CoinShares analyst James Butterfill said.

Crypto fund inflows at asset managers such as 21Shares, CoinShares, Bitwise, Grayscale and ProShares added $346 million last week, the largest jump since the bull market of late 2021, according to CoinShares’ latest report.

Last week's addition nearly doubled the $176 million registered in the prior week, compounding a nine-week consecutive run and bringing year-to-date inflows to over $1.5 billion.

The surge was fueled by anticipation of a U.S.-based spot bitcoin ETF, CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill said, with the combination of price rises and inflows pushing total assets under management at the firms to over $45 billion — the highest in more than 18 months.

Bitcoin investment products accounted for $312 million of the total inflows last week, while short-sellers "continue to capitulate," Butterfill added, with short bitcoin funds seeing a third week of outflows totaling just under $1 million and AUM falling over 60% since a peak in April.

ETPs now account for 18% of total spot bitcoin trading volume, well above average, highlighting their growing popularity among investors seeking exposure to digital assets, Butterfill noted.

Weekly crypto asset flows. Image: CoinShares.

Ether and altcoin funds add to inflows

Ether investment products added $34 million last week to a run totaling over $100 million. The four-week inflow streak has almost fully corrected outflows for the year, marking a decisive turn-around in sentiment, Butterfill said.

The sentiment was not limited to ether funds either, with other altcoin-based investment products like solana, polkadot and chainlink attracting inflows of $3.5 million, $0.8 million and $0.6 million, respectively.

Regionally, Canada and Germany again led the surge, accounting for 87% of the total inflows. The U.S. market witnessed a relatively modest $30 million worth of inflows last week, which Butterfill attributed to U.S. investors now waiting for a spot bitcoin ETF launch.


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About Author

James Hunt is a reporter at The Block and writer of The Daily newsletter, keeping you up to speed on the latest crypto news every weekday. Prior to joining The Block in 2022, James spent four years as a freelance writer in the industry, contributing to both publications and crypto project content. James’ coverage spans everything from Bitcoin and Ethereum to Layer 2 scaling solutions, avant-garde DeFi protocols, evolving DAO governance structures, trending NFTs and memecoins, regulatory landscapes, crypto company deals and the latest market updates. You can get in touch with James on Telegram or 𝕏 via @humanjets or email him at [email protected].

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