Spot ETFs in Hong Kong launch softened outflow from US funds

As a researcher with experience in the digital asset market, I find the recent trend of capital outflows from Bitcoin and inflows into altcoins quite intriguing. According to the latest CoinShares report, investors pulled out $284 million from Bitcoin last week, marking the first time since January that we’ve seen such significant outflows. In contrast, Ethereum managed to attract inflows of $30 million.


The outflow of investments in digital assets for the fourth week in a row amounted to $251 million.

As an analyst, I’ve examined the latest data from CoinShares, and for the first time since their inception, there have been net outflows from newly issued U.S. Bitcoin ETFs during the week of April 27 to May 3. The average purchase price of these ETFs’ underlying Bitcoin assets is $62,200 per coin. With the recent volatility in Bitcoin prices possibly prompting sell orders, it appears that investors have started to take profits or reduce their exposure to these funds.

In the United States, a total of $504 million was recorded as funds leaving the country. Additionally, there were withdrawals reported in Canada ($9.6 million), Switzerland ($9.8 million), and Germany ($7.3 million).

Among cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin stood out with a significant amount of $-284 million in withdrawals, making it the sole digital asset experiencing outflows.

Ethereum broke its 7-week spell of outflows, seeing US$30m of inflows last week.”

CoinShares report

During this surge, a diverse array of altcoins made their presence felt prominently. Among them were Avalanche, Cardano, and Polkadot, with valuations of approximately $500,000, $400,000, and $300,000 respectively.

The outflows might have been greater if not for the $307 million earned from the sale of exchange-traded products, which were introduced in Hong Kong on April 30.

As a market analyst, I’ve observed that the adoption of cryptocurrency Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) in Hong Kong lags significantly behind that of their counterparts in the United States. Within the first seven days of their launch, American Crypto ETFs attracted billions of dollars in investments. In contrast, Hong Kong’s Crypto ETFs have only seen about $22 million in investments so far. Additionally, daily trading volumes do not surpass $10 million as reported by Bloomberg.

As a researcher, I would like to clarify that while the Hong Kong Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) may not reach the same size as those in the US market, it’s essential to note that $310 million in Hong Kong is equivalent to $50 billion in the US market. Consequently, Hong Kong ETFs hold significant weight within their local market, comparable to the influence of US ETFs in their respective market.

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) May 6, 2024

On May 6th, SoSo Value data indicated that exchange-traded funds in Hong Kong experienced their initial net loss of funds for the cumulative period. Notably, ChinaAMC and its Bitcoin ETF recorded a net outflow of approximately $4.9 million during this time. The total value of funds withdrawn on the first trading day of the week was around $1.7 million.

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2024-05-07 17:14