1 hour ago
1
The streak is over. After six consecutive weeks of inflows into digital asset investment products, investors hit the eject button, yanking $1.07 billion in net outflows during the week ending May 18, according to CoinShares’ latest weekly fund flows report.
Bitcoin bore the brunt of the exodus, with $982 million leaving BTC-focused products. That’s the largest single-week outflow for Bitcoin in 2026, and it wasn’t particularly close. Ethereum didn’t fare much better, bleeding $249 million in its worst week since January 30.
US investors drove the selloff
US-based investors accounted for $1.14 billion of the outflows, meaning they were responsible for more than the entire net figure. Europe and Canada, by contrast, posted modest inflows, partially offsetting the American retreat.
CoinShares attributed the pronounced withdrawal to heightened geopolitical tensions, particularly those linked to Iran.
The result: total assets under management across tracked digital asset products fell to $157 billion, down from $159 billion the prior week.
This was the third-largest weekly outflow recorded in 2026, a year that had, until now, been characterized by fairly consistent institutional appetite for crypto exposure.
Altcoins quietly bucked the trend
While Bitcoin and Ethereum were getting sold, not everything was bleeding. XRP products attracted $67.6 million in fresh capital, and Solana pulled in $55.1 million during the same week.
CoinShares noted that 11 individual assets continued to see inflows above $1 million each, even as the headline number looked grim.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
English (US) · 