Ethereum, $81.6 Million Exits ETFs... 'Stumbling' Alone Amid Virtual Asset Rebound

▲ Ethereum (ETH)/ChatGPT generated image

As $81.6 million exited Ethereum (ETH) investment products, the risk-off trend in the virtual asset fund market has once again come to the forefront.

BeInCrypto reported on May 5 (local time), citing a CoinShares report, that Ethereum funds experienced a net outflow of $81.6 million last week. This marks an end to a trend that had seen average net inflows of over $190 million for three consecutive weeks. While overall digital asset investment products maintained net inflows for five consecutive weeks, the number of cryptocurrencies recording positive inflows decreased from nine to four in the previous week.

Overall digital asset funds saw a net inflow of $117.8 million last week. However, this was the smallest amount among recent net inflow trends. The assets under management (AUM) remained similar to the previous week, at approximately $155 billion. The weekly flow was highly volatile. From Monday to Thursday, $619 million exited investment products, but a single day's inflow of $737 million on Friday reversed the trend to a weekly net inflow.

Unlike Ethereum, Bitcoin (BTC) funds absorbed $192.1 million. The cumulative net inflow for the year has increased to $4.2 billion. However, the weekly inflow amount did not meet the average of approximately $1 billion recorded in the previous three weeks. Short Bitcoin products, which bet on a decline in Bitcoin, also saw an inflow of $6 million.

Regionally, the inflow of funds into the US weakened significantly. After recording $1.1 billion in the previous week, the US saw only $47.5 million in inflows last week. In contrast, Germany recorded $43.8 million and Canada recorded $16 million, indicating relatively robust investment demand in Europe and some overseas markets.

However, signs of institutional demand reviving towards the end of the week also appeared. BeInCrypto, citing SoSoValue data, reported that on May 4, $532 million flowed into US spot Bitcoin ETFs, and $61.3 million flowed into Ethereum spot ETFs. While Ethereum funds recorded a net outflow on a weekly basis, ETF demand for a single trading day has recovered.

Tom Lee of Fundstrat cited progress in the US cryptocurrency market structure bill (CLARITY) and trends in tokenization and artificial intelligence as dual tailwinds for Ethereum, assessing that 'Crypto Spring' has begun. BeInCrypto noted that Ethereum's weekly net outflow and the recovery of weekend ETF demand are creating mixed signals, and this week's fund flows will be a test of the sustainability of institutional demand.

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