Crypto Funds Extend Three-Week Run With $1B Inflows Despite Geopolitical Stress

bitcoinistPublished on 2026-03-17Last updated on 2026-03-17

Global crypto funds attracted a remarkable $1 billion in inflows last week, marking their third consecutive week of positive net flows and best performance in two months, while underscoring resilience amid geopolitical challenges.

Crypto Funds’ Positive Streak Extends

According to the latest CoinShares data, crypto funds drew $1.06 billion in inflows last week, continuing their positive net flows run for the third consecutive week and extending their best performance since the year started.

Notably, crypto Exchange-Traded Products (ETPs) had a five-week run of negative net flows from January 19 to February 20 amid market weakness and broader negative sentiment. The investment products had cumulative outflows of $4 billion, registering their worst performance since the October 10 crash.

The US market experienced most of the negative net flows during this period, while Bitcoin-based ETPs saw the weakest performance among major cryptocurrencies, with over $3.80 billion in outflows.

However, US investors’ renewed demand for digital asset investment products since the end of February, particularly Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs), has reduced the prior one-month outflows streak, bringing the three-week run of inflows to $2.62 billion.

Crypto funds attract massive inflows for the third consecutive week.  Source: CoinShares

Regionally, 96% of the inflows originated from the US, with Canada and Switzerland following with $19.4 million and $10.4 million, respectively. Hong Kong also attracted $23.1 million in inflows, marking the best performance since August 2025. In contrast, Germany recorded outflows of $17.1 million, its first negative net flows in 2026, according to CoinShares’ data.

Funds based on the flagship cryptocurrency showed the strongest performance this week, with $793 million in inflows. This accounts for 75% of total inflows, bringing BTC’s three-week inflows to $2.2 billion.

The report noted that short Bitcoin investment products also attracted $8.1 million in inflows last week, highlighting that market opinion remains somewhat polarized.

Meanwhile, Ethereum funds also saw meaningful inflows worth $315 million, partially driven by BlackRock’s debut of its staked Ether ETF in the US. This brings the category’s year-to-date (YTD) flows, which are on a net outflow position, near a net-neutral position.

Digital Assets, Bitcoin’s ‘Safe Haven’ Narrative Reinforced

James Butterfill, head of research at CoinShares, highlighted crypto funds’ strong performance despite the increasing Middle East tensions, explaining that “significant geopolitical disruption has reinforced digital assets, particularly Bitcoin, as a relative safe haven compared with other asset classes.”

Since the beginning of the Iran crisis, total assets under management (AuM) in crypto ETPs have risen by 9.4% to $140 billion, Butterfill noted on Monday. Notably, Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, recently affirmed that ETF investors have “largely displayed diamond hands” since the October correction began.

The expert emphasized that 50% drawdowns “are a walk in the park for long-time BTC investors,” but observed that newer ETF investors also appear unfazed by the recent market volatility.

Bloomberg Intelligence Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas also shared a similar perspective on the performance of spot Bitcoin ETFs, calling the investment products’ resilience “absurd” amid the market conditions.

The latest QCP Market Colour highlighted that crypto is rallying and institutional liquidity is also returning, while equities and gold remain under pressure. According to the Monday analysis, recent price actions suggest a resurgence of Bitcoin’s narrative as a “digital safe haven” or “geopolitical hedge,” with “markets stress-testing that thesis in real time.”

“If this pattern persists, it would be a late-quarter plot twist, given crypto’s underdog status and its familiar habit of correlating with traditional assets mostly on the way down,” the report stated.

The total crypto market capitalization is at $2.48 trillion on the one-week chart. Source: TOTAL on TradingView

Related Questions

QHow much in inflows did crypto funds attract last week, and what does this represent?

ACrypto funds attracted $1.06 billion in inflows last week, marking their third consecutive week of positive net flows and their best performance in two months.

QWhich region was the primary source of the crypto fund inflows, and how much did it contribute?

AThe United States was the primary source, contributing 96% of the total inflows.

QWhat was the performance of Bitcoin-based funds specifically, and how much did they attract in inflows?

ABitcoin-based funds showed the strongest performance, attracting $793 million in inflows, which accounts for 75% of the total inflows for the week.

QAccording to the head of research at CoinShares, how has recent geopolitical disruption affected the perception of digital assets?

AJames Butterfill stated that significant geopolitical disruption has reinforced digital assets, particularly Bitcoin, as a relative safe haven compared to other asset classes.

QWhat notable inflow did Ethereum funds see, and what was a key driver behind this activity?

AEthereum funds saw inflows of $315 million, partially driven by BlackRock's debut of its staked Ether ETF in the US.

Related Reads

Near Returns to the AI Stage: Transformation into a Public Chain Due to 'Payroll Difficulties,' Agent and Privacy Emerge as New Growth Narratives

NEAR Returns to AI Origins: From Payroll Struggles to Blockchain, Now Focusing on AI Agents and Privacy NEAR Protocol's journey began not with grand blockchain ambitions, but from a practical hurdle: its AI startup founders, including Transformer paper co-author Illia Polosukhin, couldn't efficiently pay international developers in 2017. This led them to pivot and build a high-performance, scalable blockchain. After years navigating various crypto narratives like sharding and cross-chain interoperability, NEAR is now leveraging its AI roots to re-enter the AI arena. A key driver is its "NEAR Intents" layer, which abstracts complex cross-chain transactions. Users simply state their goal (e.g., swap BTC for ETH), and a solver network finds the optimal route. This system has processed over $20B in cross-chain volume, generating significant fee revenue. A major growth area is private transactions via "Confidential Intents/Swaps," which hide trade details until settlement to protect against MEV and front-running. Remarkably, private swaps recently accounted for over 40% of NEAR's transaction volume, highlighting strong demand but also potential regulatory scrutiny. With its AI-founder pedigree, NEAR is positioning itself at the intersection of blockchain, AI agents, and privacy, aiming to become infrastructure for the emerging agent economy while navigating the challenges of its rapid adoption.

marsbit1h ago

Near Returns to the AI Stage: Transformation into a Public Chain Due to 'Payroll Difficulties,' Agent and Privacy Emerge as New Growth Narratives

marsbit1h ago

From Ethereum to AI's 'CROPS': What Exactly is This Set of 'Slow Variables' That Vitalik Repeatedly Emphasizes?

In recent discussions, Vitalik Buterin has frequently emphasized the concept of "CROPS," a framework defining core values for Ethereum's development. CROPS stands for Censorship Resistance, Capture Resistance, Open Source, Privacy, and Security. Initially outlined in the Ethereum Foundation's "EF Mandate," it represents a commitment to user sovereignty, ensuring that the network resists external control, remains open, protects privacy, and prioritizes security. The relevance of CROPS extends beyond Ethereum's foundational principles, becoming crucial in the context of AI integration. As AI agents begin handling wallet operations and automated transactions, the risk increases that users may cede control over their digital assets, privacy, and intentions to centralized AI service providers. A "CROPS AI" would therefore emphasize local execution where possible, privacy-preserving remote model calls (e.g., using zero-knowledge proofs), and transparent, verifiable processes to maintain user agency. Vitalik highlights a significant convergence between "CROPS Ethereum access layer" and "CROPS AI." Both address the same fundamental challenge: how users can access powerful services—be it blockchain data via RPCs or AI models—without exposing sensitive information or relinquishing ultimate control. This intersection points toward a future digital entry point that is more private, secure, and user-controlled. Ultimately, CROPS is not merely an abstract ideal but a practical guidepost. It steers development—from protocol resilience and wallet design to AI agent safety—towards a future where users retain self-sovereignty even as digital systems grow more complex and powerful. In an era of accelerating AI adoption, these "slow variables" of censorship resistance, openness, privacy, and security may define Ethereum's enduring value.

marsbit1h ago

From Ethereum to AI's 'CROPS': What Exactly is This Set of 'Slow Variables' That Vitalik Repeatedly Emphasizes?

marsbit1h ago

Silicon Valley 'Startup Guru' Steve Hoffman: Web3 + AI Could Be a Trap

Silicon Valley investor and "Godfather of Startups" Steve Hoffman warns that combining Web3 with AI is likely a trap, not a promising venture. In an interview, Hoffman argues that while AI is a foundational technology touching all industries, Web3 adds complexity, friction, and regulatory risk without solving mainstream consumer or business needs. He advises founders to focus on deep, specialized applications where startups can out-iterate giants, rather than on generic features easily replicated by large tech companies. Hoffman observes that Silicon Valley will lead foundational AI research, while China excels at rapid, large-scale application and commercialization, particularly in robotics. He stresses that AI-driven autonomous agents capable of collaborative, multi-step tasks are 2-4 years away, which will cause significant job displacement. The solution is not to slow AI but to redesign business models around human-AI collaboration and reform social systems like education and retraining. For startups, Hoffman recommends focusing on vertical, expertise-heavy domains to build defensibility. He sees major opportunities in AI fraud detection and cybersecurity. Key founder mindsets include systemic thinking over feature-focus, relentless customer centricity, building adaptive teams, and deeply understanding AI's capabilities and limits. Hoffman is also leading a non-profit initiative to establish university centers aimed at training future leaders in responsible, human-value-aligned AI innovation.

marsbit2h ago

Silicon Valley 'Startup Guru' Steve Hoffman: Web3 + AI Could Be a Trap

marsbit2h ago

Token Inefficient, Economy Tokenless

The article "Tokens Aren't Economical, Economics Aren't Tokenized" analyzes a pivotal shift in the AI industry from a technology-driven narrative to one dominated by capital efficiency. It highlights two concurrent trends: a severe capital shortage due to the exorbitant and recurring costs of compute (e.g., OpenAI's high burn rate) and a wave of corporate spin-offs where major tech companies are separating their AI units (like Kuaishou's Kling and Baidu's Kunlunxin). The core argument is that AI's "anti-internet" business model, where user growth increases costs rather than profits, has created a disconnect between high valuations and actual cash flow. Spin-offs address this by allowing AI assets to be valued independently. Within a parent company, they are seen as cost centers, but as standalone entities, they are priced based on their growth potential and scarcity in the primary market, leading to massive valuation premiums (e.g., Kling's estimated value tripling post-spin-off). The industry is at an inflection point, moving from "model worship" to "value realization." The competition is evolving from a pure compute (GPU) race to a broader focus on systemic efficiency and full-stack engineering (involving CPUs and orchestration) to achieve viable commercialization. The year 2026 is framed as a critical moment where the industry must definitively answer how to economically translate AI capability into tangible business value, reshaping the sector's future power structure.

marsbit2h ago

Token Inefficient, Economy Tokenless

marsbit2h ago

Trading

Spot
Futures
活动图片