After months of uneven positioning, institutional money has surged back into crypto markets, delivering the strongest weekly inflow of the year and signaling a renewed appetite for digital assets - even as macro risks re-emerged late in the week.
Recent data shows that crypto-linked investment products absorbed roughly $2.17 billion over the past week. That figure stands out not only as the largest weekly inflow of 2026 so far, but also as the most significant wave of buying since October, pushing total assets under management above $193 billion for the first time in months.
Key Takeaways
Crypto investment products saw their strongest weekly inflows of 2026, topping $2.1 billion.
Bitcoin and Ether captured the majority of new capital as investors focused on core assets.
Late-week geopolitical and policy concerns briefly reversed sentiment, showing confidence remains fragile.
Early optimism meets late-week anxiety
The bulk of capital entered the market during the first half of the week, when sentiment was broadly constructive and prices were trending higher. However, the mood shifted abruptly on Friday. Heightened geopolitical tensions around Greenland and renewed trade tariff fears triggered a pullback, resulting in nearly $378 million of outflows in a single session.
According to CoinShares research chief James Butterfill, investors were also unsettled by political speculation in the US. Reports suggesting that Kevin Hassett, viewed by markets as a policy dove, may remain in his current role rather than transition to the Federal Reserve added another layer of uncertainty to risk sentiment.
Capital concentrates in core assets
Despite the late-week reversal, the overall picture shows investors becoming more selective rather than exiting the asset class. Funds linked to Bitcoin captured the lion’s share of inflows, pulling in around $1.55 billion. That dominance underscores bitcoin’s role as the primary institutional gateway into crypto during periods of renewed interest.
At the same time, Ether attracted close to $500 million, a level of demand that exceeded total crypto inflows seen just a week earlier. Notably, ether-linked products remained resilient even as US lawmakers debated provisions of the CLARITY Act that could eventually limit stablecoin yield offerings.
Elsewhere, appetite was more measured. Products tied to XRP and Solana saw steady but smaller allocations, while niche inflows extended to assets such as Sui and Hedera, suggesting selective risk-taking rather than broad speculation.
Institutions lead the charge
Issuer data reinforces that view. BlackRock emerged as the clear leader, with its iShares crypto ETFs drawing roughly $1.3 billion. Grayscale Investments and Fidelity Investments also recorded meaningful inflows, highlighting continued institutional engagement.
Regionally, the US dominated activity, accounting for about $2 billion of the total. In contrast, Sweden and Brazil posted modest net outflows, reflecting a more cautious stance outside North America.
Confidence returns, but cautiously
Not all strategies benefited from the rebound. Multi-asset crypto products and short-bitcoin funds continued to see net outflows, indicating that investors are favoring directional exposure rather than hedged or defensive positioning.
Overall, the latest data suggests crypto markets are regaining momentum, but confidence remains fragile. Capital is flowing decisively into core assets, yet the sharp reversal at the end of the week shows how quickly sentiment can turn when geopolitical or policy risks resurface.
