Investment Education

Outflows from crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) reached $455 million over the previous nine weeks, according to a report from asset manager CoinShares. Outflows from ETPs generally indicate negative sentiment toward cryptocurrencies.

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Crypto exchange-traded products are designed to track crypto prices. When shares of these funds fall below their target prices, they sell off cryptocurrencies, causing outflows.

The week leading up to Sept. 18 saw outflows of $54 million — capping off nine weeks in which only a single week saw inflows. Bitcoin

BTC$90,416
Bitcoin
Change (24h)
3.22%
Market Cap $1.79T
Volume (24h) $40.61B
View More
saw the biggest drawdown from all exchange-traded products and was responsible for 85% of all outflows from these funds. Last week, over $45 million worth of Bitcoin was sold into the market by ETPs.

Ether

ETH$2,234
Ethereum
Change (24h)
2.53%
Market Cap $269.15B
Volume (24h) $16.52B
View More
funds were also not spared in the deluge of selling. They saw outflows of approximately $5 million last week.

Despite these outflows, a few ETPs representing altcoins did well last week. Solana

SOL$145.80
Solana
Change (24h)
0.52%
Market Cap $70.94B
Volume (24h) $3.73B
View More
ETPs saw net inflows of $700,000, Cardano
ADA$0.9872
Cardano
Change (24h)
5.06%
Market Cap $34.73B
Volume (24h) $3.25B
View More
gained $430,000 and XRP
XRP$2.50
XRP
Change (24h)
1.34%
Market Cap $144.12B
Volume (24h) $4.38B
View More
added $130,000.

CoinShares also provided data about the regional origin of crypto ETP outflows. The United States was responsible for 77% of the outflows, with Germany, Canada and Sweden also having caused a sizable percentage of the outflows.

Crypto ETPs offer an easier way for investors with traditional financial accounts to invest in digital assets. However, the issuance of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund has faced numerous regulatory and legal barriers in the United States. In March, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) denied VanEck’s proposal for a Bitcoin Trust. On Aug. 11, a U.S. federal appeals court ruled that the SEC had been “arbitrary and capricious” in denying a Bitcoin ETP proposal from Grayscale.