In brief
- Bitcoin hit an all-time high price this week while Ethereum surged earlier in May.
- The BTC price record comes as investors buy into exchange-traded fund shares.
- Ethereum ETFs are also collecting cash, though they haven’t seen the same demand as Bitcoin funds.
Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange-traded funds on Thursday received over $1 billion in new investments, the highest combined inflows in five months, underscoring the accelerating appetite for crypto-focused products over the past two weeks.
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) accounted for most of that total, generating $877 million in net inflows. That’s the third-highest daily total for the fund, which has spearheaded the recent surge, according to data from U.K. asset manager Farside Investors. Bitcoin funds in total received $935 million in inflows.
“It’s a continuation of the momentum we’ve seen, particularly in IBIT, which hasn’t seen outflows since April 9—the day that Bitcoin put in its recent lows,” Sumit Roy, senior ETF analyst for ETF.com, told Decrypt.
He added: “The fact that Bitcoin is hitting new record highs is helping, as well, of course. There’s been a strong relationship between flows and price, and I expect that to continue.”
Bitcoin’s price has risen more than 48% since dipping below $75,000 in early April, with much of those gains coming as U.S. President Donald Trump scaled back his trade war and the latest inflation reports were tamer than expected. Investors have also looked at BTC increasingly as a safe haven asset amid still volatile macroeconomic conditions.
IBIT has received more than $1.9 billion in assets through the first four days of this week. It is the third time in the last month that the fund has collected more than than a billion in assets during a single week.
It generated $2.4 billion and about $1 billion for the weeks of April 28 and May 5, respectively. The fund has totaled nearly $41 billion in net inflows since its debut in January 2024, more than four times that of the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust (FBTC), which has the next-highest amount.
Bitcoin this week broke a new record when it hit a price of $111,814, according to crypto price data firm CoinGecko.
Ethereum ETFs received more than $110 million in inflows on Thursday, led by the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) and Fidelity Ethereum Trust (FETH) with more than $40 million apiece, according to Farside.
Ethereum price gains, which lagged behind those of Bitcoin and other coins, have outpaced those assets over the past month. Ethereum was recently trading at $2,565, down 3.5% from Thursday at the same time but up more than 46% over the past 30 days.
BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) has received over $4.3 billion in net inflows, more than double the investment in the next closest competitor in the space. The eight funds currently trading have generated more than $2.7 billion in net inflows, with Grayscale’s ETHE accounting for nearly $4.3 billion in net outflows. The fund is a conversion from a so-called closed trust that carries a higher fee than other ETFs in the category.
“Ethereum ETFs aren’t knocking the lights out, but not doing terribly either,” Bloomberg ETF research analyst James Seyffart told Decrypt. “Flows are actually strong, but underlying price is dragging down asset levels.”
Edited by James Rubin
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