Digital asset investment products have seen a remarkable trend of positive inflows for the fourth consecutive week, attracting a total of $185 million last week. In May alone, these products received a staggering $2 billion in inflows, surpassing the $15 billion mark for year-to-date inflows, setting a new record. This information comes from a recent report by CoinShares.
Although the weekly volumes declined to $8 billion from the previous week’s $13 billion, the consistent inflows indicate the sustained interest in digital assets among investors. The United States dominated in terms of inflows, attracting a net total of $130 million. However, incumbent ETF issuers faced outflows of $260 million.
Switzerland experienced its second-largest weekly inflows this year, amounting to $36 million, while Canada saw a turnaround with inflows of $25 million, despite a net outflow of $39 million in May. Bitcoin remained a popular choice for investors, attracting inflows of $148 million. Conversely, short-bitcoin products witnessed outflows of $3.5 million, indicating positive sentiment among ETF investors.
There was a significant shift in investor sentiment towards Ethereum, which recorded a second consecutive week of inflows. This change followed the SEC’s approval of a spot-based ETF that is set to launch in July 2024. Prior to this positive development, Ethereum had experienced ten consecutive weeks of outflows, totaling $200 million. The positive news surrounding Ethereum also had a positive impact on Solana, which received an additional inflow of $5.8 million last week.
In contrast to the success of direct investments in digital assets, blockchain equities faced challenges with outflows of $7.2 million last week, contributing to a total outflow of $516 million this year.
Bitcoin spot ETFs continue to attract significant investor interest, recording fourteen consecutive days of net inflows. On May 31, the total net inflow for Bitcoin spot ETFs reached $48 million, according to data from SoSo Value. Grayscale ETF GBTC experienced outflows of over $124 million on that day, which were offset by BlackRock’s inflows of $169 million.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust has become the world’s largest fund for Bitcoin, accumulating nearly $20 billion in total assets since its listing in the United States earlier this year. Bitcoin ETFs have emerged as one of the most successful categories of ETFs, amassing a total of $58.5 billion in assets. These funds have experienced remarkable growth, driven by Bitcoin’s value quadrupling since the beginning of last year.
Despite the success of Bitcoin ETFs, Vanguard Group, the world’s second-largest asset manager, has firmly stated that it has no plans to offer any crypto-related products, highlighting the cautious approach taken by some institutions in the face of digital asset market volatility.