October’s crypto investment inflows climb to $3.4 billion after $900 million added last week: CoinShares

Global crypto funds run by asset managers such as BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity, Grayscale, ProShares and 21Shares registered net inflows of $901 million last week, according to CoinShares. 

Over $3.36 billion has now flowed into digital asset investment products in October, representing 12% of assets under management at the funds and the fourth-largest month on record. Annually, this has pushed year-to-date inflows to $27 billion — nearly triple the $10.5 billion record set in 2021.

Weekly crypto asset flows. Images: CoinShares .

Bitcoin-based funds almost entirely dominated, generating $920 million worth of net weekly inflows globally. Short-bitcoin positions also saw minor net outflows of $1.3 million. Blockchain equities and Solana products also registered weekly inflows of $12.2 million and $10.8 million, respectively. In comparison, Ethereum-based funds returned to net weekly outflows of $34.7 million as the ETH/BTC ratio fell to its lowest level since April 2021.

U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds witnessed $997.6 million in net weekly inflows alone, led by BlackRock’s IBIT, as U.S.-based crypto investment products brought in $906 million worth of net inflows overall. However, other bitcoin-based products registered negative flows, and funds based in Sweden, Canada, Brazil and Hong Kong saw a combined $29.1 million in net outflows.

Bitcoin is currently trading for $68,554, according to The Block's Bitcoin Price Page — up 2.2% over the past 24 hours, 8.2% this month and 62.2% year-to-date. 

Inflows driven by Republican poll gains ahead of the U.S. election

“We believe that current bitcoin prices and flows are heavily influenced by U.S. politics, with the recent surge in inflows likely linked to the Republicans' poll gains,” CoinShares Head of Research James Butterfill said.

Pro-crypto Republican candidate Donald Trump currently leads Democrat Kamala Harris by odds of 66.5% to 33.4% to win the presidential election on Nov. 5, according to the decentralized predictions platform Polymarket . The former President has also taken the lead in all six swing states, with Polymarket showing 84% odds of a Republican Senate, 52% odds of a Republican House and a 48% chance of a Republican sweep compared to 12% for the Democrats. Last week, Polymarket claimed there was no evidence of market manipulation in U.S. election bets on the platform despite slippage issues.

In contrast, the latest national polling averages continue to call a close race, with numbers within the margin of error showing Harris leading Trump by 48.1% to 46.7%, according to FiveThirtyEight . However, the gap between the two candidates in the national polls has narrowed since the peak 3.7% lead for Harris on Aug. 23, with analysts at Bernstein noting that the traditional polls have historically underestimated Trump.