Investor concerns persist as crypto investment products see 4th week of outflows

On Mar. 6, European cryptocurrency investment firm CoinShares published its “Digital Asset Fund Flows Report,” which revealed that Investors have continued to display negative sentiment toward crypto investment products, with outflows totaling $17 million. 

The negative sentiment was primarily focused on Bitcoin (BTC), with outflows for the cryptocurrency totaling $20 million. In contrast, short-Bitcoin products saw inflows for a third week totaling $1.8 million, according to CoinShares data.

CoinShares' data showed that "overall volumes across investment products were low at US$844m for the week," with Bitcoin market volumes 15% lower than usual, averaging $57 billion.Additionally, there seems to have been a shift in sentiment regionally, with the U.S. experiencing inflows of $7.6 million while Europe saw outflows of $23 million.

Minor inflows were also observed in other crypto assets, with Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL) seeing drawdowns of $700,000 and 340,000, respectively. In contrast, blockchain equity investors remained bullish, with inflows of $1.6 million last week. CoinShares suggested that investors are still keen on the underlying technology of digital assets but are wary of the regulatory environment surrounding cryptocurrencies.

According to CoinShares, there was a meager increase in total assets under management (AUM) of short-Bitcoin products for the week. However, despite recent inflows, short-BTC products have seen a mere 4.2% year-to-date growth in AUM compared to the 36% increase in long-bitcoin AUM. The data suggest that short Bitcoin positions have failed to deliver the expected returns this year. 

Related: BTC price ‘in the chop zone’ — 5 things to know in Bitcoin this week

Overall, the negative sentiment toward crypto investment products will likely continue until there is more clarity on the regulatory front. As governments worldwide continue to grapple with how to regulate this new asset class, investors are being cautious and waiting on the sidelines until they have more information.