Billion-Dollar Crypto Frenzy: Is Your Neighbor Now Richer Than You?

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If you ever get the sense that everyone but you is effortlessly getting rich on cryptocurrency—take heart, you’re not alone, and you might just be right. Last week, as the rest of us were deciding whether to buy socks or invest in canned beans, cryptocurrency investment products merrily hoovered up another staggering haul of money. All this despite the fact that digital coins like Bitcoin and Ether behave unpredictably enough to make even a squirrel on espressos look stable.

Apparently, global crypto exchange-traded products (that’s “ETPs” to their trendy friends) attracted $1.03 billion in fresh inflows for the week ending Friday. This, at least according to CoinShares, an outfit that seems to track these things with the kind of dedication previously reserved for birdwatchers or stamp collectors.

What does this mean? Well, with invigorating speed and the financial equivalent of a protein shake, crypto ETPs have smashed their year-to-date inflow records, setting an all-time high just a hair under $19 billion. Yes, $19 billion. That’s enough to buy roughly three small London apartments. James Butterfill, CoinShares’ fearless head of research and no relation to Willy Wonka (we assume), confirmed the milestone with what we’ll assume was a straight face.

Assets under management (AUM, or Money They’re Proud Of) in crypto ETPs swelled majestically to $188 billion from last week’s paltry $184.4 billion. That’s a jump so big you’d imagine their accountants are currently hyperventilating into small brown bags.

Bitcoin: Still the Popular Kid with $790 Million in Inflows 🚀

Once again, Bitcoin—the global financial equivalent of blue jeans and pizza—led the way last week with $790 million in inflows. That’s a whopping 76% share, in case you’re scoring at home. True, this was down from the previous three-week average of $1.5 billion a week—proving even Bitcoin sometimes needs a little lie-down.

James Butterfill has bravely suggested that this moderation is because investors are now “becoming more cautious as Bitcoin approaches its all-time high price levels.” One can only imagine the calm, rational conversations happening at kitchen tables worldwide. (“Should we remortgage the house for a digital coin named after a fruit? Discuss.”)

Are We About to Love Ether ETFs More? 🤔

Let’s not forget Ether (ETH), the classic sequel everyone saw coming. ETH ETPs hauled in $225 million for their 11th week of consecutive inflows. Not bad, considering Ether started out as Bitcoin’s slightly nerdier friend.

Proportionally, Ether is absolutely showing off compared to Bitcoin: its weekly inflows have averaged 1.6% of assets under management, compared to Bitcoin’s paltry 0.8%. Butterfill claims this reveals a “notable shift in investor sentiment in favour of Ethereum.” Somewhere, Vitalik Buterin is probably doing a small, dignified dance.

Much of last week’s crypto frenzy, it must be said, was handled through BlackRock’s crypto funds, which saw $436 million in inflows, or 42% of last week’s action. So if you’ve invested through anyone else, yes, you are now officially uncool.

So there you have it—a billion dollars, a fickle pile of digital currencies, and no sign of the madness slowing down. Should you join in next week, or finally buy those socks? The answer, as always with crypto, is: probably both. Or neither. Check again in 15 minutes. ⏰💸

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2025-07-07 12:38