Andriy Onufriyenko
- Assets backed by bitcoin saw $225 million in inflows over the week to October 8, according to CoinShares.
- Bitcoin soared above $50,000 in that period thanks to dip buyers and the SEC's potential approval of a related ETF.
- Ether-backed products logged $13.6 million in outflows, the most since June 25.
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Investors poured the most cash into bitcoin-backed products in seven months as the cryptocurrency rallied past $50,000 last week, according to a report from CoinShares on Monday.
Assets backed by bitcoin logged $225 million in inflows in the week to October 9, the most since the week of February 26, the report showed. The leading cryptocurrency made up almost all the total $226 million inflows into digital asset management products, CoinShares noted.
Ether-backed assets saw outflows of $13.6 million, the most since the week to June 25, compared with $20.2 million worth of inflows the previous week.
Over that timeframe, bitcoin rose by around 15% to top the psychologically important $50,000 level, spurred on by people buying into a dip below $40,000 in late September. Investors may also be bullish after signs the US Securities and Exchange Commission may be open to a bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
"We believe the turnaround in sentiment towards bitcoin is due to constructive statements from SEC Chair Gary Gensler, potentially allowing a bitcoin ETF in the US. Our recent survey data also highlights greater institutional participation in the asset class," CoinShares said in the report.
Last week, the SEC approved Volt Equity's exchange-traded fund, which is made up of stocks with bitcoin exposure, such as bitcoin miners. It is seen as the closest the regulator has got to giving the green light for the 13 bitcoin ETFs it has under review.
Among altcoins, solana-backed assets logged inflows totalling $12.5 million and cardano-backed assets had inflows worth $3 million.
But at the same time, cash flowed out of assets backed by polkadot's dot, with $2.1 million in outflows. XRP-based products saw $600,000 of outflows, while litecoin booked $200,000 of outflows.