Crypto Market Sees $1.1 Billion Inflows As Institutional Interest Picks Up

Morgan Stanley’s freshly launched Bitcoin exchange-traded fund pulled in nearly $62 million within its first week of trading — a debut that landed in the middle of the strongest week for crypto investment products in three months.

That broader rebound was driven by more than one firm’s market entry. Crypto funds globally attracted $1.1 billion in net inflows for the week ending April 11, according to asset manager CoinShares.

The turnaround came after five straight weeks of outflows that drained roughly $4 billion from the market and left investor sentiment battered heading into April.

CoinShares head of research James Butterfill pointed to two specific triggers: early ceasefire signals out of Iran and a softer-than-expected US inflation reading. Both helped ease nerves that had kept institutional money on the sidelines.

US investors led the charge. Based on CoinShares data, American buyers accounted for $1.06 billion — about 95% of total global flows for the week. US spot Bitcoin ETFs absorbed the largest share, pulling in $833 million, per data from Farside Investors.

Bitcoin funds worldwide attracted $871 million. Ethereum, which had recorded outflows for three consecutive weeks before this, saw $196.5 million flow back in. Weekly trading volumes climbed 13% to $21 billion, though that number still sits well below the year-to-date average of $31 billion, reports indicate.

The positioning among big investors told an interesting story. At the same time institutions were buying into Bitcoin and Ethereum, short-Bitcoin products — funds that profit when Bitcoin’s price falls — recorded $20 million in inflows.

That was the highest single-week total for those products since November 2024. Money was moving in, but some of it was being used as a safety net.

XRP funds, which had briefly outpaced Bitcoin the previous week with nearly $120 million in inflows, cooled significantly. Reports show XRP investment products brought in a little over $19 million during the same period.

Beyond the weekly numbers, Morgan Stanley’s expanding footprint in the space drew attention. The bank has already filed for Ethereum and Solana ETFs following its Bitcoin fund launch.

According to reports, Morgan Stanley executive Amy Oldenburg said the firm also plans to roll out crypto services including a tokenized money market fund and tax-harvesting options for clients.

Year-to-date, Bitcoin ETF inflows have reached just under $2 billion — about 82% of all crypto ETP inflows recorded in 2026. Ethereum remains in the red for the year, sitting at $130 million in cumulative outflows despite last week’s recovery.

Total assets under management across crypto investment products climbed back to levels not seen since early February.

Featured image from Pexels, chart from TradingView