In a recently published report by CoinShares, Ethereum (ETH) has been labeled the ‘least-loved’ digital asset of 2023 among exchange-traded product (ETP) investors. This revelation comes as the cryptocurrency market faces a resurgence of bearish sentiment, marked by four consecutive weeks of outflows from digital asset investment products.
Digital asset investment products endured a trying week, with total outflows reaching $59 million, marking the fourth week in a row with negative flows. These outflows now total a significant $294 million, equivalent to 0.9% of the sector’s total assets under management (AUM).
Bitcoin’s Struggles and Ethereum’s Unpopularity
Bitcoin faced its own share of troubles, suffering outflows worth $69 million last week. This brings the month-to-date flows for Bitcoin to $72.4 million.
Meanwhile, this isn’t too surprising, as BTC investment products have been grappling with bearish sentiment since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed its decision on several spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications.
Ethereum, in particular, has seen outflows totaling $4.8 million in the past week. This further exacerbates the year-to-date outflows for ETH, which now stand at $108 million, equivalent to 1.6% of assets under management (AuM) as of the most recent report.
Interestingly, while most altcoins experienced million-dollar outflows, Solana (SOL) saw inflows of $0.7 million for the ninth consecutive week. While Coinshares’ recent report identifies Ether as the “least loved” alternative coin, their previous week’s findings highlight SOL as the ‘most loved altcoin.
However, this positive indicator is tempered by a significant drop in trading volumes, down by 73% compared to the prior week.
Global Impact
Outflows were primarily witnessed in North America, with Canada and the United States seeing significant sell-offs of $17.6 million and $12.3 million, respectively. Germany led the trend in Europe with $20 million worth of sales.
The prevailing negative sentiment in the cryptocurrency market is attributed to concerns over regulatory changes and the recent strength of the U.S. dollar. Investors have been cautious in light of these factors, resulting in a cooling of inflows into digital investment products.
Nevertheless, the landscape remains dynamic, and developments like Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest applying for the first Ethereum ETF in the United States could potentially alter sentiment.
