Institutional Investors Remember Crypto Exists, Pump $1.1B Into ETFs While Keeping One Eye on the Exit

Crypto investment products surged back to life last week as improving macro conditions triggered a sharp reversal in institutional sentiment, according to data released Monday by asset manager CoinShares. The $1.1 billion in weekly inflows marked the strongest weekly performance since early January, with tentative ceasefire developments in Iran and softer-than-expected US CPI data restoring investor confidence. Apparently, when CPI doesn't crush dreams and geopolitical tensions take a coffee break, institutions suddenly remember they own crypto wallets.

U.S. investors dominated the return to crypto, accounting for $1.06 billion or 95% of global flows. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs captured the bulk of this activity with $833.2 million in weekly inflows, according to Farside Investors data. Trading volumes rose 13% week-over-week to $21 billion, though this remains well below the year-to-date average of $31 billion, suggesting room for further recovery. American institutions are back to their old tricks, pumping nearly a billion into Bitcoin ETFs like it's 2020 all over again—just with more grey hair and higher dental bills.

The inflow surge revealed sophisticated institutional positioning as investors simultaneously increased both bullish bets and downside hedges. While Bitcoin funds globally attracted $871 million and Ethereum saw $196.5 million last week after three weeks of outflows, short-Bitcoin products recorded $20.2 million in inflows—their highest weekly total since November 2024. This dual positioning suggests institutions are adding crypto exposure while maintaining protection against potential volatility. It's the financial equivalent of eating a salad while keeping a Baconator in your pocket—just in case.

Last week's performance brought Bitcoin's year-to-date inflows to just under $2 billion, representing 83% of the $2.3 billion in total crypto ETP inflows recorded so far. Ethereum remains one of the few assets in negative territory for the year with cumulative outflows of $130 million, despite its recent weekly recovery. Meanwhile, ETH is out here getting absolutely cooked by Bitcoin's gravity—$130 million in red ink while BTC sits pretty with nearly $2 billion in the green. The flippening isn't happening anytime soon, folks.

XRP funds led the way the previous week with nearly $120 million worth of inflows, even outpacing Bitcoin funds during that week—but XRP investments fell to $19.3 million last week. Ripple investors had their moment in the sun, briefly eclipsing the king himself, before promptly returning to their usual role of being everyone's third-favorite altcoin. The thrill is definitely gone.

Last week's institutional crypto surge follows five consecutive weeks of outflows totaling $4 billion that had dampened market sentiment through March. Four billion dollars walked out the door over five weeks, and then—poof—suddenly everyone's back like nothing happened. Institutional memory is truly a fascinating phenomenon, somewhere between a goldfish and that friend who says they'll text you back but definitely won't.

Amid last week's rebound came the launch of Morgan Stanley's Bitcoin ETF, which pulled in nearly $62 million in investments last week after its Wednesday launch. The firm has already filed for Ethereum and Solana ETFs, and plans to explore crypto offerings like a tokenized money market fund and tax-harvesting services for clients. Big Mike is officially in the building, and he's not just dipping a toe—he's filing for the whole Ethereum and Solana buffet while eyeing that sweet tokenized money market fund life. The tanned, rested, and ready era of TradFi-crypto adoption is here, and it's wearing a tailored suit.

In other news, a technical exploit of blockchain token bridge Hyperbridge led to the artificial creation of 1 billion Polkadot (DOT) tokens valued above $1.1 billion—but it only saw around $237,000 in losses due to limited liquidity. The protocol said the exploit resulted from a vulnerability in its proof verification logic. The malicious actor has not yet been identified. Someone somehow minted a billion DOT—$1.1 billion on paper—and walked away with $237,000. That's the crypto exploit equivalent of robbing a bank and only grabbing the quarters. The hacker probably spent three hours trying to figure out what went wrong.

Foundry Digital, operator of the world's largest Bitcoin mining pool, officially launched its Foundry Zcash Pool on Monday with multiple institutional mining customers already onboarded. The pool has captured about 29% of the Zcash network's hashrate since its March announcement, marking a rapid expansion into privacy-focused cryptocurrency mining beyond Bitcoin. Foundry's out here quietly building a privacy coin empire, snapping up 29% of Zcash hashrate like it's collecting stamps. Institutional mining is getting spicy, and it's not just about the orange coin anymore.

Publicly traded Ethereum treasury BitMine Immersion Technologies last week made its largest weekly purchase of ETH since December, adding 71,524 ETH valued around $157 million. The firm now holds 4,874,858 ETH worth more than $10.7 billion as Ethereum changes hands around $2,208 on Monday, making it the largest stockpile of the cryptocurrency. BitMine just dropped $157 million on ETH like it was buying coffee, pushing their total stash to over $10 billion. At this point, calling it a "treasury" feels reductive—they're basically running a sovereign wealth fund for digital real estate, except the land is made of code and the walls are made of gains.