Ethereum remained in the driver’s seat throughout August, pushing crypto inflows to $2.48 billion last week. The surge pushed August flows to $4.37 billion, and year-to-date (YTD) inflows to $35.5 billion.
However, despite this positive momentum, total assets under management (AUM) slipped 10% from recent peaks to $219 billion amid Friday’s macroeconomic woes.
Ethereum Dominates Crypto Inflows as Bitcoin Trails Amid August Recovery
The latest CoinShares report shows Ethereum continued to dominate Bitcoin in investor preference. Last week, it attracted $1.4 billion in positive weekly flows as crypto inflows reached $2.48 billion. Meanwhile, Bitcoin inflows reached $748 million.
Ethereum has accumulated $3.95 billion in inflows throughout August, after a series of altcoin-led positive flows.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin recorded net outflows of $301 million in August, while other altcoins benefited from optimism surrounding potential US ETF (exchange-traded fund) launches.
However, according to CoinShares head of research James Butterfill, last week’s crypto inflows could have been higher, save for negative price movements and Friday’s outflows following the release of Core PCE data.
The macroeconomic data point dampened expectations of a Federal Reserve (Fed) rate cut in September.
“Core PCE rises to 2.9% YoY. Inflation is not falling. It is rising. Q2 GDP revised up to 3.3%. And some think the Fed should cut 50 bp? The data does not support a cut. But politics may force it,” Mainstay Capital Management CEO & CIO David Kudla stated.
Analysts suggest the Friday pullback reflected profit-taking rather than a broader market weakness, as inflows remained diversified across geographies.
The rebound follows a turbulent week reported by CoinShares the week before, which highlighted $1.43 billion in outflows, the largest since March.
Bitcoin led these outflows at $1 billion, while Ethereum limited its losses to $440 million. This reflects the growing resilience of Ethereum-focused products.
Month-to-date flows showed Ethereum with $2.5 billion in net inflows versus Bitcoin’s $1 billion net outflow.
In response to US monetary policy cues, investor sentiment shifted sharply over the week. Early pessimism regarding Fed action triggered initial outflows of $2 billion.
However, following Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s address at the Jackson Hole Symposium, markets interpreted a more dovish tone than expected, sparking inflows of $594 million later in the week.
Ethereum benefited most from this shift, highlighting a distinct divergence in investor preference between Ethereum and Bitcoin.
Ethereum’s growing share of investment products across August is significant, where YTD inflows represent 26% of total AUM, compared with just 11% for Bitcoin.
This trend highlights investors’ increasing preference for Ethereum exposure, driven by the network’s ecosystem growth and DeFi adoption.
Despite Friday’s minor pullback, the broad inflows signal renewed investor confidence in digital assets, particularly Ethereum.
Altcoin optimism is further supported by ETF-related expectations, and the digital asset market appears poised for selective growth, even as Bitcoin faces headwinds from recent outflows and the overall contraction in AUM.
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