$4 Billion Outflow, $1.1 Billion Inflow...Is the Crypto Market's Direction Being Shifted by Institutions?

▲ Cryptocurrency Trading

As institutional funds flowed back into the cryptocurrency market, $1.1 billion was injected last week alone, with U.S. funds accounting for 95% of that, effectively taking the lead in the rebound.

According to cryptocurrency media outlet NewsBTC on April 15 (local time), global cryptocurrency investment products recorded net inflows of $1.1 billion for the week ending April 11. Prior to this, outflows had continued for five consecutive weeks, totaling approximately $4 billion. Asset management firm CoinShares cited early ceasefire signals from Iran and lower-than-expected U.S. inflation data as the reasons for the turnaround. James Butterfill, Head of Research at CoinShares, explained that as geopolitical tensions and inflationary pressures eased, institutional funds that had been waiting on the sidelines started moving again.

The center of the inflows was the United States. According to CoinShares' aggregation, U.S. investor funds amounted to $1.06 billion, accounting for approximately 95% of the total weekly inflows. Specifically, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows of $833 million. Looking at fund flows by asset, Bitcoin (BTC) investment products attracted $871 million, and Ethereum (ETH) investment products, which had experienced outflows for three consecutive weeks, also turned to net inflows of $196.5 million. Weekly trading volume increased by 13% to $21 billion, but it still fell short of the year-to-date average of $31 billion.

However, the market as a whole was not entirely optimistic. Short Bitcoin products, which bet on a decline in Bitcoin, also saw $20 million in inflows, the largest weekly amount since November 2024. XRP investment products, which had surpassed Bitcoin with nearly $120 million in inflows the previous week, saw a significant slowdown in inflows to just over $19 million during the same period.

In the market rebound phase, Morgan Stanley's moves also drew attention. NewsBTC reported that Morgan Stanley's newly launched Bitcoin exchange-traded fund attracted nearly $62 million in its first week of trading. Following the launch of its Bitcoin product, Morgan Stanley has also applied for Ethereum and Solana ETFs.

Amy Oldenburg announced plans to launch tokenized money market funds and tax-saving services for clients. Year-to-date cumulative inflows into Bitcoin ETFs fell just short of $2 billion, accounting for approximately 82% of total crypto ETP inflows in 2026. In contrast, despite last week's rebound, Ethereum remained in a cumulative outflow state of $130 million year-to-date. The total assets under management for cryptocurrency investment products recovered to levels not seen since early February.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only, and we are not responsible for any investment losses based on it. This content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*