Investors withdrew $288 million from digital-asset funds last week amid declining prices, geopolitical uncertainties, and thinning trading volumes, highlighting a period of increasing caution in the crypto space.
Investor demand for digital-asset funds remained depressed last week as withdrawals continued for a fifth consecutive week, according to market trackers, underscoring a deepening fatigue among both institutional and retail holders.
According to CoinShares’ Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly Report, a net $288 million left crypto funds in the latest week, extending a string of redemptions that have now driven cumulative outflows to about $4 billion this year, versus roughly $6 billion seen over the same period last year. Bitcoin was the main contributor to the deterioration, the report said, with $215 million of net redemptions. Ether also saw meaningful exits, while multi-asset products and Tron suffered further selling pressure. CoinShares added that short-bitcoin products absorbed $5.5 million, the largest single-asset inflow among funds in the week, signalling an increase in bearish positioning.
Market activity thinned sharply: exchange-traded product trading volumes fell to approximately $17 billion, their weakest level since July 2025, reflecting a broader pullback in participation, the CoinShares note said. Regionally, the United States accounted for the largest net outflows, around $347 million, while Switzerland, Canada and Germany registered modest inflows of $19.5 million, $16.8 million and $16.2 million respectively, with smaller allocations flowing into Brazil, Australia and the Netherlands.
Price action added to the strain. Bitcoin slipped beneath $65,000 in early Asian trading on Monday, prompting roughly $230 million of long liquidations as investors wrestled with overlapping geopolitical and macro uncertainties, CoinShares and market commentators reported. QCP Capital told clients the key question is not whether Bitcoin has failed but how long the “storm” of elevated risks will last, and stated that reclaiming $74,000 would be important for a sustained recovery. The recent slide followed renewed policy uncertainty after a decision by Donald Trump to raise a proposed global tariff to 15%, announced soon after the Supreme Court of the United States overturned his “Liberation Day” tariffs, the lead reporting noted.
Some altcoins showed limited resilience. CoinShares recorded small inflows into XRP, Solana and Chainlink , each attracting between roughly $1.2 million and $3.5 million , though those sums were insufficient to offset broad altcoin outflows. Other industry trackers reported larger, sometimes divergent, flows into the same assets, highlighting differences in data coverage. According to Cointelegraph, for the week ending 21 March 2025 XRP and Solana led altcoin ETP inflows with about $6.7 million and $6.4 million respectively, while Cointelegraph and other summaries put Ether ETP outflows at around $86 million. HTX’s market notes described institutional movements of roughly $1 billion out of Bitcoin and Ethereum overall, coupled with reallocations into altcoins such as XRP and Solana. By contrast, an XT.com industry blog posted substantially larger figures for altcoins , reporting six-figure to multi-hundred-million-dollar inflows into Solana and XRP , a discrepancy that reflects differing product universes, geographies and timing among providers.
Analysts caution that such reporting differences are common because individual firms track different sets of funds and exchanges. According to industry data providers, aggregate flows can vary materially depending on whether a dataset includes retail ETPs, institutional over-the-counter placements or region-specific products. Taken together, the signals point to selective appetite for specific non-Bitcoin tokens even as overall risk tolerance slips.
The sustained outflows and thinning volumes underscore how sensitive crypto allocations remain to macro and geopolitical developments, and how quickly investor positioning can rotate between core assets and selected altcoins. With Bitcoin on course for a potential fifth consecutive monthly close in the red , a pattern many market participants view as a later-stage warning sign , attention now turns to forthcoming catalysts, including regulatory developments and diplomatic talks that could reshape sentiment in the near term.
- https://cryptopotato.com/crypto-funds-bleed-again-5-weeks-of-outflows-show-deepening-investor-fatigue/ – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://www.htx.com/news/Market%20Analysis-M1KXuY7L – This article discusses how institutional investors are moving approximately $1 billion out of Bitcoin and Ethereum, leading to significant outflows from these assets. Despite this, altcoins like XRP and Solana are attracting inflows, indicating a strategic reallocation within the crypto market. The piece highlights the impact of regulatory uncertainty, particularly in the U.S., on investor behaviour and the growing interest in alternative cryptocurrencies.
- https://cointelegraph.com/news/xrp-solana-lead-altcoin-etp-inflows-ethereum-struggles – According to CoinShares, XRP and Solana led altcoin-based exchange-traded product (ETP) inflows during the week ending March 21, 2025, with $6.71 million and $6.44 million respectively. In contrast, Ethereum-based ETPs experienced significant outflows of $86 million. This trend suggests a shift in investor preference towards certain altcoins amid challenges faced by Ethereum.
- https://coinedition.com/xrp-and-solana-attract-big-money-as-ethereum-bleeds-86-million/ – This article reports that XRP and Solana attracted substantial inflows of $6.7 million and $6.4 million respectively, while Ethereum faced outflows of up to $86 million. The data indicates a growing interest in specific altcoins, with XRP and Solana leading the way, as investors diversify their portfolios amidst Ethereum’s struggles.
- https://www.xt.com/en/blog/post/ethereum-leads-3-75-billion-crypto-inflows-xrp-and-solana-join-the-party – The article highlights that Ethereum captured most of the crypto inflows, with both Solana and XRP also attracting notable investments. Solana-based products recorded $176.5 million in inflows, while XRP witnessed about $125.9 million. This suggests that institutional investors are increasingly favouring these altcoins, despite the absence of spot crypto ETFs for these assets in the U.S. market.
- https://www.htx.com/news/Market%20Analysis-zNqiGIGk/ – This piece reports that US spot Ether ETFs broke a seven-day outflow streak with $84.6 million in net inflows, while XRP ETFs extended their uninterrupted inflow streak, recording $43.9 million in net inflows. Solana and Chainlink ETFs also saw steady inflows, indicating a positive trend for these altcoins amidst broader market dynamics.
- https://www.ainvest.com/news/2025-altcoin-exodus-institutional-inflows-favor-xrp-solana-traditional-megacap-coins-2601/ – The article discusses how institutional investors are increasingly favouring XRP and Solana over traditional megacap coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum. Despite higher volatility, XRP and Solana ETFs have seen significant inflows, suggesting a strategic rebalancing within institutional portfolios towards these altcoins.
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
3
Notes:
⚠️ The article references data from CoinShares’ Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly Report, dated March 10, 2025, and mentions Bitcoin’s price slipping below $65,000 in early Asian trading on Monday, which aligns with March 2025. However, the article was published on February 25, 2026, making the content over 11 months old. This significant time gap raises concerns about the relevance and timeliness of the information presented. Additionally, the article includes outdated data, such as Bitcoin’s price movements from March 2025, which may not accurately reflect the current market conditions. ⚠️
Quotes check
Score:
2
Notes:
⚠️ The article includes direct quotes from CoinShares’ Digital Asset Fund Flows Weekly Report and QCP Capital. However, these quotes cannot be independently verified through the provided sources, as the original reports are not accessible. The lack of verifiable sources for these quotes raises concerns about their authenticity and accuracy. ⚠️
Source reliability
Score:
4
Notes:
⚠️ The article is published on CryptoPotato, a niche cryptocurrency news website. While it may have a dedicated readership, its reach and credibility are limited compared to major news organisations. The reliance on a single, potentially biased source for the majority of the information diminishes the overall reliability of the content. ⚠️
Plausibility check
Score:
5
Notes:
⚠️ The article discusses investor outflows from digital asset funds, referencing CoinShares’ report from March 2025. While such outflows are plausible given market volatility, the specific figures and events mentioned cannot be independently verified due to the lack of accessible sources. The inclusion of outdated data and the inability to verify key claims further diminish the plausibility of the narrative. ⚠️
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): FAIL
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH
Summary:
⚠️ The article presents outdated information from March 2025, including data on Bitcoin’s price movements and investor outflows from digital asset funds. The reliance on unverifiable quotes and a single, niche source diminishes the credibility and reliability of the content. Given the significant time gap and the inability to independently verify key claims, the article fails to meet the necessary standards for publication. ⚠️