Crypto Investment Products Log $1.4B Inflows on Ceasefire Optimism

Cryptocurrency investment products logged another week of strong inflows on ceasefire optimism and a Bitcoin price breakout driving investor sentiment. Crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) posted $1.4 billion in inflows last week, beating the prior week's $1.1 billion and marking the second-largest weekly inflows since January, CoinShares reported on Monday. Following the three-week inflow streak totaling $2.7 billion, crypto ETPs now have net year-to-date inflows of around $3.8 billion, with assets under management (AUM) at $154.8 billion — the highest level since early February after dipping to as low as $128 billion in March. The uptick in crypto funds has likely been driven by a recovery in risk appetite on US-Iran ceasefire extension talks, CoinShares head of research James Butterfill said. The sentiment was further reinforced by Bitcoin (BTC) nearly touching $78,000 on Friday, according to CoinGecko. Ether funds turn positive year to date Bitcoin led last week's ETP gains by a significant margin, with inflows totaling $1.12 billion. The gains brought year-to-date inflows to $3 billion, with AUM at $123 billion. The majority of gains were contributed by US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), which posted $1 billion in inflows last week. Ether (ETH) investment products also picked up with $328 million inflows in its strongest week since January, finally lifting the ETPs into green year-to-date with $197 million inflows. Still, altcoin ETPs, including XRP (XRP) and Solana (SOL), recorded negative flows, with XRP leading the outflows at $56 million. Solana recorded minor outflows of $2.3 million. Short-Bitcoin products saw a modest $1.4 million of inflows, suggesting residual but limited hedging demand. Regionally, the US dominated the surge with $1.5 billion of inflows, while Germany ranked second with just $28 million of inflows. Switzerland saw the largest redemptions last week, with outflows totaling $138 million. Addressing the implications of recent economic data, CoinShares' Butterfill suggested that March's Consumer Price Index (CPI) increase of 3.3% appears to have been largely looked through by markets, with core CPI at 2.6% seen as relatively contained, pointing to inflation pressures that remain more supply-driven than broad-based. Related: Bitcoin erases weekend gains as US-Iran ceasefire faces pressure Nomura's Laser Digital echoed that view, telling Cointelegraph that backward-looking macro indicators currently offer only limited insight while conflicts continue to affect supply chains and spending patterns. "Delayed indicators like CPI and PMIs mostly reflect past conditions rather than the current situation," Laser Digital said, adding that the outlook remains "cautiously optimistic." Sentiment improvement was also reflected in the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which moved from "extreme fear" to "fear," with the score rising above 29 on Monday for the first time since Jan. 29.