Inflows into cryptocurrency investment funds rose sharply last week, offering cautious optimism that investors are broadening their exposure to digital assets despite geopolitical uncertainty and monetary tightening from central banks.
Digital asset investment products registered $127 million worth of cumulative inflows for the week ending March 6, according to CoinShares data. A CoinShares representative told Cointelegraph that this was the highest weekly inflows since Dec. 12, 2021. The increase was also significantly higher than the $36 million of inflows registered the previous week.
Like in previous weeks, Bitcoin (BTC) products recorded the largest weekly inflows at $95 million. Bitcoin fund flows have increased for seven consecutive weeks. Ether (ETH) funds saw inflows totaling $25 million, which was the largest in 13 weeks. Inflows into multi-asset investment products also increased by $8.6 million.
Year-to-date, Bitcoin funds have seen $166 million in cumulative inflows.
Institutions are bullish on #Bitcoin!
The amount of BTC held by public companies has gained significant market share from that held in spot ETFs. https://t.co/DZP2AlMXlh
— Cointelegraph (@Cointelegraph) January 3, 2022
Crypto markets have exhibited a higher correlation with public equities since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, which means that digital assets have been negatively impacted by legacy finance’s shift to a more risk-off environment in recent months. That shift was largely prompted by the Federal Reserve’s plans to begin normalizing monetary policy. The recent events in Ukraine have also negatively impacted demand for higher-risk investments, which include crypto.
Related: Rate hikes, CPI and war in Europe — 5 things to watch in Bitcoin this week
However, according to crypto hedge fund Pantera Capital, the correlation between stocks and crypto is a “short-lived thing.” As CEO Dan Morehead noted, since 2010, correlations between Bitcoin and the S&P 500 usually spike over a two-month period before decoupling. Morehead noted six downtrends of the S&P 500 over that period.