Market volatility and changing investment trends fueled digital asset investment product inflows to an all-time high of $44.2 billion for 2024, European asset manager CoinShares reported in a recent study. Driven primarily by U.S. spot-based exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the record-breaking figure further bolsters growing investor confidence in the digital asset space.
It now appears to have trickled over into the new year. On the first three days of 2025, digital asset products drew $585 million into inflows. But the broader view for the final week of 2024, including Friday and Saturday of the new year, saw $75 million in net outflows.
Digital Asset Sector Matures Despite Market Challenges
The 2024 inflows were nearly four times higher than the previous record of $10.5 billion in 2021, according to CoinShares head of research James Butterfill. U.S. spot-based ETFs accounted for $44.4 billion, the overwhelming share of $47.7 billion, of the unprecedented surge.
Other regions did not fare so well. Modest inflows of $630 million were recorded by Switzerland, while substantial outflows of $707 million were reported by Canada and $682 million from Sweden. Investors that analysts say simply shifted funds to U.S. products or bid to preserve profits, responded to market conditions.
Bitcoin was king of the digital asset market, bringing in $38 billion in inflows and accounting for 29 percent of total assets under management. Inflows into short-Bitcoin products continued, though at a slightly lower rate of $108 million compared to $116 million in 2024.
On the other hand, Ethereum made a dramatic comeback, with $4.8 billion in inflows, nearly 2.5 times from 2021 and 60 times what we witnessed last year. Other altcoins, including Solana and $69 million, were outpaced by Ethereum’s resurgence.
And while Ethereum grew massively, all of the other altcoins contributed together to $813 million in inflows in 2024 (18 percent of total assets under management). While overshadowed by Bitcoin and Ethereum, these assets represent diversity in investor interest in the digital asset space.
The record-setting performance of the digital asset market in 2024 is a symptom of the rising institutional interest in cryptocurrency investment products, especially in the U.S., where additional growth is forecast for 2025 driven by greater regulatory clarity and new products.
Record inflows confirm the resilience and maturity of the digital asset sector, even at a time when the global economy faces many uncertainties and cryptocurrencies are changing their prices.
