In a significant shift in the cryptocurrency investment landscape, Ethereum has emerged as the frontrunner in attracting institutional capital, securing $321 million in inflows last week alone . This marks Ethereum’s sixth consecutive week of positive flows, bringing its total to an impressive $1.19 billion – the strongest performance streak since December 2024.
The broader digital asset market maintained its momentum with $286 million in total inflows, extending a remarkable seven-week streak that has added $10.9 billion to crypto investment products . However, despite this continued interest, the overall assets under management declined from $187 billion to $177 billion, reflecting recent market volatility.
Market Dynamics: Winners and Losers
While Ethereum celebrated its triumph, Bitcoin experienced its first setback after six weeks of consistent inflows. The world’s largest cryptocurrency saw $8 million in outflows last week , with BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) recording its largest-ever outflow of $430.8 million – the fund’s first negative flow since early April.
The reversal in Bitcoin’s fortunes came midweek following a U.S. federal court decision to temporarily reinstate Trump-era reciprocal tariffs, triggering market uncertainty and prompting investors to recalibrate their positions.
XRP also struggled significantly, posting $28.2 million in outflows, marking its second consecutive week of negative flows . Over the past two weeks, XRP products have seen more than $56 million exit the asset.
Geographic Distribution of Investment Flows
The United States continued to lead in crypto investments, attracting $199 million in new capital . Germany and Australia followed with inflows of $42.9 million and $21.5 million, respectively. Hong Kong demonstrated remarkable growth with $54.8 million in new inflows – its highest since the launch of local crypto ETFs .
In contrast, Switzerland experienced $32.8 million in outflows, while Sweden and Brazil also registered weekly losses of $4 million and $3.2 million, respectively.
Altcoin Performance
Several alternative cryptocurrencies managed to attract modest investments despite the market turbulence. Sui secured $2.2 million, Solana drew $1.5 million, Chainlink brought in $800,000, and Cardano added $100,000 to its coffers.
Market Outlook
The shifting investment patterns suggest a potential realignment in institutional preferences, with Ethereum gaining momentum as Bitcoin temporarily cedes ground amid macroeconomic headwinds. This development comes as Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently unveiled plans to boost the network’s layer 1 scalability by 10x within the next year, without compromising decentralization.
Despite the recent price pressure that has pushed Ethereum below $2,500 following concerns about the Pectra upgrade attack , institutional confidence in the second-largest cryptocurrency appears unshaken, as evidenced by the consistent inflow of capital.
As market participants increasingly favor tokens with clear utility and strong infrastructure backing, Ethereum’s dominance in the smart contract platform space continues to support long-term institutional allocations.
