Crypto investment products see $2 billion of inflows in May amid 'turnaround' in Ethereum sentiment: CoinShares

Global crypto investment products at asset managers such as Ark Invest, Bitwise, BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, ProShares and 21Shares registered net inflows totaling $185 million last week, a fourth-consecutive week of positive inflows, according to CoinShares' latest report.

The streak saw May inflows reach $2 billion, pushing year-to-date net inflows above the $15 billion level. However, volume fell over the past week, generating $8 billion in trading compared to $13 billion the week prior, CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill wrote.

Weekly crypto asset flows. Images: CoinShares.

US and Bitcoin dominate as Ethereum sees a ‘turnaround in sentiment’

Crypto investment products based in the U.S. continued to dominate last week’s flows, accounting for $130 million in net inflows. Switzerland and Canada-based funds saw $36.8 million and $24.6 million worth of net inflows, respectively. However, digital asset funds in Sweden and Brazil registered net outflows.

Bitcoin-based funds generated net inflows totaling $148 million globally last week, while short Bitcoin products saw further outflows totaling $3.5 million, suggesting sentiment remains positive among investors, according to Butterfill.

U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds witnessed $170.9 million in combined net inflows for the week, with $297.8 million worth of net inflows from BlackRock’s IBIT, enough to overcome $260.6 million in net outflows from Grayscale’s converted GBTC fund alone as IBIT took the top spot from GBTC in terms of assets under management.

Meanwhile, Ethereum-based products saw their second consecutive week of net inflows, adding $33.5 million, following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of 19b-4 forms for eight spot Ethereum ETF in the U.S. on May 23. The issuers still need to have their S-1 registration statements go effective before trading can begin — a process that could take days or weeks.

“This represents a turnaround in investor sentiment in an asset that had seen a 10-week run of outflows prior, totalling $200 million,” Butterfill said.