Cryptocurrency funds, led mainly by Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs, added $585 million in assets in the first three days of 2025 after ending the year with a big round of profit-taking and outflows.
The strong start comes after a record year for crypto-based exchange-traded products, according to a new report from digital asset manager CoinShares. All told, $44 billion in assets flowed into such funds — more than four times the previous record set in 2021, wrote James Butterfill, CoinShares’ head of research.
Bitcoin funds now account for 29% of assets under management tracked by the European firm.
On Friday alone, Bitcoin ETF issuers saw $908 million worth of shares sold, according to data from Farside Investors.
“Bitcoin’s performance at the end of January will be a critical indicator,” Markus Thielsen, CEO of 10x Research, wrote in a note to investors. “Following the hawkish FOMC meeting in December, Bitcoin ETF inflows have slowed significantly, exacerbated by less favorable global liquidity conditions.”
With 23 days to go, the CME Group FedWatch Tool shows that traders overwhelmingly expect the Fed to keep rates unchanged. The CME tool uses derivatives trading data to estimate the outcome investors expect from the upcoming Federal Open Markets Committee meetings.
Even if it does, it may not be a great macroeconomic indicator for Bitcoin. For a while, any FOMC meeting that ended without an adjustment to the Fed’s key interest rate was disastrous for Bitcoin’s price. But since the Fed finally cut rates in September – the first time in four years – the effect on prices has been less pronounced.
Still, BRN analyst Valentin Fournier believes any bullish price action that coincides with the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump could be followed by consolidation later this month.
“Since Christmas, Bitcoin has been on a strong upward trajectory. “With no negative news on the horizon, this trend will likely continue until Trump’s inauguration on January 20,” he wrote. “At that point, there could be a pullback unless market expectations are met. We recommend maintaining a substantial exposure to digital assets, with a balance between Bitcoin and Ethereum based on their respective market capitalizations.”
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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