Altcoins see inflows for first time in 5 weeks as 'positive but cautious' investors add $226 million to global crypto funds: CoinShares

Global crypto investment products run by asset managers such as BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity, Grayscale, ProShares and 21Shares attracted another $226 million worth of net inflows last week, according to CoinShares data.

The second consecutive week of inflows suggests a "positive but cautious" investor, CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill wrote in a Monday report. 

"Following the largest outflows on record, ETPs have seen nine consecutive trading days of inflows," Butterfill said. "Last Friday was the exception, seeing minor outflows totalling $74 million, likely in reaction to core personal consumption expenditure in the U.S. coming in above expectations, implying the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to remain hawkish despite recent data alluding to weak growth."

Weekly crypto asset flows. Images: CoinShares.

However, the flows align with price action for bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market, which traded up until Friday wiped out all the week's gains, with participants also remaining jittery over President Trump's volatile tariff announcements ahead of "Liberation Day" on Wednesday.

"President Trump's proposed tariff hikes including a 25% levy on Mexican and Canadian goods effective April 2 — have resumed trade war anxieties," Bitget Research Chief Analyst Ryan Lee told The Block. "Historically, such protectionist measures trigger risk aversion across asset classes, and crypto has not been immune."

"The timing proves particularly delicate as digital assets maintain elevated correlation with traditional markets; bitcoin's 0.67 correlation coefficient with the Nasdaq suggests equities weakness could continue dragging crypto prices lower," Lee added.

Bitcoin ended up falling around 6% over the past week, according to The Block's BTC price page, while the GMCI 30 index of leading cryptocurrencies dropped 10.6%. The recent price falls have pushed global bitcoin investment products' total assets under management to their lowest level since the U.S. presidential election in November at $114 billion, CoinShares' Butterfill noted.

US and Bitcoin lead as altcoin products see inflows for first time in 5 weeks

Unsurprisingly, U.S. investors led regionally, accounting for $204 million of last week's net inflows. However, it was not the only region witnessing positive flows for the second week in a row, with funds based in Switzerland and Germany also adding $14.7 million and $9.2 million, respectively. Crypto investment products in Hong Kong and Brazil saw minor outflows.

Bitcoin-based funds again dominated, registering $195 million in net inflows last week. Investors also continued to exit their short-Bitcoin positions for a fourth-consecutive week, with net weekly outflows totaling $2.5 million.

The U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds clocked up $196.4 million of the net inflows alone, according to data compiled by The Block — also registering positive flows every day last week bar Friday.

Meanwhile, global altcoin-based investment products saw aggregate net inflows of $33 million for the first time in five weeks, following four consecutive weeks of net outflows that totaled $1.7 billion. Ethereum, Solana, XRP and Sui-based funds were the main beneficiaries, adding $14.5 million, $7.8 million, $4.8 million and $4 million last week, respectively.