(Kitco News) – The five-week streak of outflows from digital asset investment products came to an end on Friday as globally listed crypto funds recorded $130 million worth of inflows last week, with Bitcoin (BTC) accounting for the majority of activity.
“ETP volumes continue to subside though, with US$8bn for the week compared to US$17bn average in April,” said James Butterfill, Head of Research at CoinShares. “These volumes highlight ETP investors are participating less in the crypto ecosystem at present, representing 22% of total volumes on global trusted exchanges relative to 31% last month.”
The U.S.-listed spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs) accounted for the bulk of flows, with $135 million streaming into these products, while Grayscale (GBTC) recorded its lowest weekly outflows since January after $171 million was pulled from the fund.
Switzerland saw inflows of $14 million, and Hong Kong saw just $19 million worth of inflows after recording record increases the week prior, “suggesting the majority of the first week post Bitcoin ETF launches were seed capital,” Butterfill said. “Canada and Germany continued to see outflows totalling US$20m and US$15m respectively with their year-to-date outflows now totalling a combined US$660m.”
Bitcoin products recorded net inflows of $144 million, bouncing back from what had been a weak month up to that point, while short-Bitcoin ETPs saw outflows of $5.1 million, bringing the last eight weeks of outflows to $18 million.
Solana products recorded an increase of $5.6 million in assets under management, Polkadot saw inflows of $1.2 million, and XRP gained $600,000.
While ETF flows have stabilized in recent weeks, many analysts believe things could soon start to pick up again as frequent reports show large brokerage firms, banks, and retirement funds are starting to make allocations to Bitcoin via the spot ETFs.
Tuesday brought reports that the State of Wisconsin Investment Board has $142 million in Bitcoin ETF exposure, suggesting the inflows into spot BTC ETFs are just getting started.
? JUST IN: The State of Wisconsin Investment Board has $142m in #BitcoinETF exposure!
The US ?? Government indirectly investing in #Bitcoin ? pic.twitter.com/PqvGFcKSb7— Crypto Rand (@crypto_rand) May 14, 2024
The emergence of news stories about banks and other large funds investing in Bitcoin has led to an uptick in sentiment despite the ongoing sideways price action, with the level of greed increasing since Monday after the Wisconsin news started making the rounds despite Tuesday’s Producer Price Index reading showing that inflation remains stubbornly high.
