Bitcoin and Ethereum Surge After U.S. Greenlights Crypto in 401(k) Plans – You Won’t Believe This!

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Key Takeaways

So, apparently, digital asset investment products saw a nice $572M rebound last week, thanks to Bitcoin, Ether, and the U.S. allowing crypto in 401(k) plans. Altcoins didn’t do too badly either, considering it’s the middle of summer, and people are usually out at the beach, not buying crypto.

After a not-so-great first half of the year, the digital asset investment market pulled off a nice little comeback last week. A total of $572 million in fresh investments were tossed in, according to CoinShares. You know, because why not add some excitement to your summer vacation, right?

CoinShares’ Head of Research weighs in

So, here’s the thing: after some pretty shaky outflows – $1 billion left earlier in the week – it seemed like we were on a bit of a downtrend. CoinShares’ Head of Research, James Butterfill, blamed it all on the disappointing U.S. payroll numbers, which got everyone worrying about the economy. Classic, right?

But hold on, just when you thought it couldn’t get worse, Bitcoin [BTC] and Ethereum [ETH] decided to make a comeback. ETH hit $4,000 for the first time since December 2024, like it had something to prove. Oh, and the real kicker? U.S. regulators announced they’d let digital assets into 401(k) retirement plans. Cue the $1.57 billion wave of investment inflows. Yep, that’s billion with a B, folks.

All this happened despite the fact that everyone seemed to slow down for the summer. CoinShares’ data showed a 23% dip in crypto ETP volumes from the previous month. Not exactly a hot time to be trading, unless you’re into Bitcoin and Ethereum, I guess.

When you look at the inflow data, it’s clear that the U.S. is still the crypto king, raking in $608 million. Canada, on the other hand, got a measly $16.5 million. Better luck next time, eh? Meanwhile, Europe was a little more cautious, with Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland collectively pulling out $54.3 million. Ouch.

What triggered this surge?

According to Butterfill, the sudden surge of money towards the end of the week had something to do with the U.S. giving digital assets a green light in 401(k) retirement plans. You know, the kind of thing that gets people excited about the future, or maybe they’re just tired of their regular old 401(k) and looking for something new to bet on. Either way, it led to $1.57 billion in fresh inflows.

And in case you’re wondering, Ethereum wasn’t left behind. It really took the spotlight, bringing in nearly $270 million in inflows. Apparently, institutional investors are really into Ethereum right now. Who knew, right? I mean, it’s not like we haven’t seen that coming for a while.

Butterfill had this to say:

“This pushed year-to-date inflows to a new record of $8.2 billion, while recent price gains have driven total assets under management to an all-time high of $32.6 billion, up 82% so far this year.”

Winners and losers

ProShares ETFs in the U.S. were the big winners this week, pulling in a cool $35 million. Meanwhile, CoinShares XBT Provider AB saw a $16 million outflow, bringing its total withdrawals for the year to $414 million. Tough break. Some people just can’t catch a break, huh?

On a positive note, smaller issuers in the “Other” category did pretty well, scooping up a solid $151 million.

Altcoins got in on the action too. Solana [SOL] products saw $21.8 million in inflows, XRP secured $18.4 million, and NEAR pulled in $10.1 million. Not bad for some of those underdogs, huh?

So yeah, despite the slow trading volumes, investors are still interested in those layer-1 ecosystems and cross-border payment systems. Guess we’re not done with crypto just yet.

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2025-08-12 09:26