Last week, digital asset investment vehicles recorded $3.75 billion in inflows, their fourth-highest figure historically, in what appears to be a recovery from the subdued momentum of previous weeks.
Interestingly, the surge was almost entirely tied to iShares and one particular product under its umbrella. With market prices pushing higher, total assets under management (AuM) reached a historic peak of $244 billion on August 13.
Amidst this momentum, Ethereum continued to steal the show.
ETH Inflows Smash Records
In its latest edition of ‘Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly Report,’ CoinShares revealed that Ethereum attracted a record $2.87 billion in inflows last week, which accounted for 77% of total market inflows. This pushed its year-to-date figure to a whopping $11 billion. Ethereum’s inflows also dominate relative to assets under management, as it made up 29% compared to Bitcoin’s 11.6%.
Inflows into Bitcoin reached $552 million, comparatively smaller than Ethereum’s haul. Short-bitcoin investment vehicles nevertheless gained traction, securing an additional $4 million. Investors continued spreading capital across other assets.
For instance, Solana brought in $176.5 million, XRP $125.9 million, followed by Sui at $11.3 million, Chainlink at $1.2 million, and Cardano with $0.8 million. Multi-asset products managed a minor $0.4 million inflow.
However, not all assets fared equally. Litecoin experienced outflows of $0.4 million, while Ton registered the steepest reversal, with $1 million withdrawn from funds during the same period.
Of the $3.73 billion inflows, the US captured nearly all – about 99%. Other countries contributed smaller portions. Canada followed with $33.7 million, alongside Hong Kong’s $20.9 million and Australia’s $12.1 million. Switzerland also contributed $4.2 million. On the other hand, Sweden reported $49.9 million in outflows, while Brazil recorded $10.6 million exiting investment products over the past week.
The subsequent week, however, painted a different picture as markets slid sharply.
Crypto Markets Face Fresh Sell-Off
Digital asset markets faced turbulence on 18th August as Bitcoin fell from $118K to $115K and Ethereum also dropped from $4,500 to $4,300, triggering over $400 million in long liquidations. The sell-off extended last week’s decline, when Bitcoin retreated 5% from all-time highs amid $1 billion in DeFi liquidations and profit-taking.
Funding rates had already hinted at stress, with BTC perpetuals softening since Friday. Deribit’s funding rate, above 20% for most of last week, turned negative by Saturday and echoed a pattern seen before the August 1 drop to $112K. With Jackson Hole looming, QCP Capital stated that traders view the move as pre-event de-risking. Options markets now tilt bearish, and puts are favored across maturities.
Still, corporate buyers remain active. Tokyo-listed Metaplanet, for one, added 775 BTC over the weekend.
