Crypto funds see $700 million of inflows as GBTC impact continues to abate

Quick Take

  • Digital-asset investment products returned to inflows last week following two weeks of outflows, adding over $700 million globally.
  • The second-largest weekly inflows since spot bitcoin ETFs were launched in the U.S. were aided by the continued slowing of outflows from Grayscale’s converted GBTC fund.

Crypto funds at asset managers such as BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity, Grayscale, ProShares and 21Shares returned to inflows totaling $708 million globally last week, according to CoinShares’ latest report.

Last week’s inflows are the second-largest since the week spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds were launched in the United States on Jan. 11 and the second-largest since the bull market peak of late 2021. The inflows followed two weeks of consecutive outflows, bringing year-to-date net inflows to $1.6 billion and total assets under management to $53 billion, CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill wrote.

Though still very high, the continued abatement of outflows from Grayscale’s higher-fee converted spot bitcoin ETF (GBTC) assisted the flows. GBTC registered $927 million in outflows last week compared to $2.2 billion in the prior week, highlighting a significant reduction in outflow momentum in recent weeks, Butterfill said.

However, trading volumes for the funds fell to $8.2 billion compared to $10.6 billion in the prior week — though still well above 2023’s weekly average of $1.5 billion. The latest figure represents 29% of bitcoin’s total trading volume on trusted exchanges last week, Butterfill added.

Weekly crypto asset flows. Images: CoinShares.

Bitcoin and US ETFs continue to dominate

Bitcoin investment products continued to dominate, witnessing $703 million of inflows last week — some 99% of all flows. Short bitcoin funds registered minor outflows of $5.3 million, coinciding with a reversal of negative price momentum, Butterfill said.

Bitcoin is currently trading at $43,341, up 3% over the past week, according to The Block’s price page. However, it remains down around 12% since peaking when the spot bitcoin ETFs launched on Jan. 11. 

BTC/USD price chart. Image: The Block/TradingView.

The newborn nine U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs, excluding GBTC, have averaged $1.9 billion worth of inflows over the last four weeks to reach $7.6 billion in inflows. Accounting for GBTC’s $6 billion in total outflows, net inflows across the ETFs currently stand at around $1.6 billion.

Regionally, the focus remained on the U.S., too, accounting for $721 million of inflows last week. Canada and Sweden witnessed $31.3 million and $8.2 million in outflows, respectively.

In terms of altcoin-based funds, Solana led with inflows of $13 million last week, while ether and Avalanche investment products saw $6.4 million and $1.3 million in outflows, respectively.


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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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