Digital Asset Funds Register $1.4B Weekly Influx, Second-Best Performance Since January
Digital currency investment vehicles attracted $1.4 billion in capital last week while Bitcoin approached the $78,000 mark, pushing total assets under management to $154.8 billion.
Digital asset investment vehicles registered another period of substantial capital inflows, fueled by optimism surrounding ceasefire developments and a significant Bitcoin price surge that bolstered market confidence.
Digital currency exchange-traded products (ETPs) attracted $1.4 billion in fresh capital over the past week, surpassing the previous week's $1.1 billion intake and representing the second-most significant weekly inflow figure recorded since January, according to a Monday report from CoinShares.
After a consecutive three-week period of positive flows amounting to a combined $2.7 billion, digital asset ETPs have accumulated approximately $3.8 billion in net year-to-date inflows, while assets under management (AUM) have climbed to $154.8 billion — representing the peak level witnessed since early February following a decline to approximately $128 billion during March.
The surge in digital currency fund activity has most likely been fueled by a resurgence in risk appetite stemming from negotiations regarding US-Iran ceasefire extension talks, according to James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares.
Market sentiment received additional reinforcement as Bitcoin (BTC) came close to reaching $78,000 on Friday, based on data from CoinGecko.
Ether funds turn positive year to date
Bitcoin dominated the previous week's ETP performance by a considerable margin, capturing inflows amounting to $1.12 billion. These gains elevated year-to-date inflows to $3 billion, while AUM reached $123 billion.
The bulk of these gains originated from US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which attracted $1 billion in inflows throughout the past week.
Ether (ETH) investment vehicles also experienced momentum with $328 million in inflows during its most robust week since January, ultimately pushing the ETPs into positive territory year-to-date with $197 million in accumulated inflows.
However, alternative cryptocurrency ETPs, which include XRP (XRP) and Solana (SOL), experienced negative capital movements, with XRP spearheading the outflows at $56 million. Solana registered modest outflows totaling $2.3 million.
Inverse-Bitcoin products attracted a moderate $1.4 million in inflows, indicating remaining but constrained hedging appetite among investors.
From a geographical perspective, the US led the influx with $1.5 billion of incoming capital, while Germany secured second position with merely $28 million of inflows. Switzerland experienced the most substantial redemptions during the past week, with outflows reaching $138 million.
Commenting on the ramifications of recent economic statistics, CoinShares' Butterfill proposed that March's Consumer Price Index (CPI) rise of 3.3% seems to have been primarily overlooked by financial markets, with core CPI at 2.6% viewed as relatively moderate, indicating that inflationary pressures remain more supply-driven rather than widespread.
Nomura's Laser Digital shared a similar perspective, informing Cointelegraph that retrospective macroeconomic indicators presently provide only minimal insight while ongoing conflicts continue to impact supply chains and expenditure patterns.
Delayed indicators like CPI and PMIs mostly reflect past conditions rather than the current situation,
Laser Digital stated, further noting that the forecast remains "cautiously optimistic."
The enhancement in market sentiment was additionally demonstrated through the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which transitioned from "extreme fear" to "fear," with the metric climbing above 29 on Monday for the first occasion since Jan. 29.