Crypto sector sees outflows for 4th week in a row, CoinShares data shows

NEW YORK: Cryptocurrency investment products and funds posted outflows for a fourth consecutive week, the bulk of which came from bitcoin products, which also experienced its fourth straight weekly outflow, data from digital asset manager CoinShares showed.

Crypto outflows hit $19.5 million in the week ended July 30, with bitcoin reaching $19.7 million in outflows. Other crypto and digital investment products such as Ripple and Polka Dot, however, did show minor inflows for the week.

Bitcoin outflows occurred despite a recent recovery in price, “suggesting investors were using recent strength to take profits,” said James Butterfill, investment strategist at CoinShares.

The outflows, prompted by negative price action in mid-May, have totaled $295 million, representing 1% of total assets under management, the report said. Still, bitcoin inflows so far this year remain at a robust $4.1 billion.

Bitcoin rallied about 12.5% last week, hitting a high of just under $43,000. It was last down 0.5% at $39,654.

Blockchain data provider Glassnode, in its latest note on Monday, provided a not-so-upbeat outlook on bitcoin. It said it had seen last week a notable spike in younger coins, or those less than one-week old, being sold in what “resembles a capitulation bottom.”

Glassnode also noted that bitcoin supply at exchanges has fallen, with an “extremely large volume of coins” flowing out of exchanges, comparable to the peak outflows seen in November 2020.

Ether, the token used in the Ethereum blockchain, also saw outflows of nearly $10 million last week, its second straight week of outflows, data showed. Year-to-date inflows into ether products still showed a healthy $957 million.

A major technical upgrade looms on the Ethereum blockchain this week that could sharply lift its price. On Monday, ether was last up 3% at $2,633.

Grayscale is still the largest crypto asset manager, with $34.2 billion in assets under management, up from $28.5 billion in the previous week.

Assets under management of CoinShares, the second biggest digital asset manager, were at $3.7 billion in the latest week, up slightly from $3.2 billion previously.

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