A monthly column on the crypto markets and ETF/ETP flows, brought to you by CoinDesk Indices, Trackinsight and ETF Express.
Joshua de Vos, Research Lead, CoinDesk, writes that US-listed crypto ETFs and ETPs posted a record-breaking month in July, attracting USD12.5 billion in net inflows and accounting for 94.5 per cent of global crypto investment product trading volume, according to Trackinsight data.
Since the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, US-listed digital asset products have accumulated more than USD186 billion in assets under management (AUM), reflecting unprecedented institutional demand for regulated crypto exposure.
For investors, this scale and consistency of capital inflows signals the United States’ central role in expanding global access to digital investments – with US-listed products dominating in both volume and capital attraction.
Flows remained heavily concentrated in bitcoin products. iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF led the pack with USD5.26 billion in net inflows and now holds USD86.2 billion in AUM, representing 51.2 per cent of AUM among the 10 largest digital asset ETFs.
Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust ETF followed with AUMs of USD23.9 billion and USD21.2 billion, respectively. Other major US-listed bitcoin funds also maintained strong market positions. The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust, Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, Volatility Shares 2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF and ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF each ended July with between USD2.7 billion and USD5.7 billion in AUM.
All 10 of the largest crypto ETFs globally are listed in the United States, with nine focused exclusively on bitcoin. Ether-based ETFs also continued to gain ground.
iShares Ethereum Trust ETF ranked as the fourth-largest product overall, closing July with USD11.2B in AUM.
Grayscale Ethereum Trust followed with USD4.25 billion, ahead of the Fidelity Ethereum Fund at USD2.54 billion and the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust at USD2.50 billion.
Overall, ether-linked products accounted for USD5.46 billion of July’s net inflows, or nearly 50 per cent, compared to USD6.53 billion for bitcoin-linked funds.
This marked a 564 per cent increase from June, when ether ETF inflows totalled just USD822.6 million. However, trading activity remained heavily concentrated in bitcoin, with BTC ETFs averaging USD1.12 billion in daily volume, far exceeding the USD18.8 million seen across ether ETFs.
USD-denominated products continued to dominate market activity, accounting for more than 97 per cent of global crypto ETP trading volume. Funds denominated in CAD and AUD attracted minor inflows, while several SEK- and EUR-linked products saw net outflows.
Performance dispersion across digital assets was also notable during the month:
The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), which tracks the largest and most liquid digital assets, rose 26.25 per cent in July, reflecting the breadth of large-cap participation across the crypto market.
The CoinDesk 5 Index (CD5), which focuses on the top five assets and underpins the Grayscale Digital Large Cap Fund currently pending ETF conversion, returned 14.19 per cent, highlighting more concentrated gains among the largest holdings.
Regulatory progress accelerated meaningfully in July. On July 17, the House passed the CLARITY Act, establishing clear oversight boundaries between the SEC and CFTC.
The following day, Congress passed and signed into law the GENIUS Act, creating the first federal framework for stablecoins.
The SEC later introduced Project Crypto, a multi-phase initiative to modernise securities rules for digital assets, alongside proposed reforms to shorten ETF review windows and enable in-kind creation and redemption.
While certain product-level decisions are still pending, including delayed rulings on the Grayscale Solana ETF and Trump-linked Social Bitcoin ETF, the broader direction of policy is now clearly defined.
The SEC also approved and then temporarily paused Grayscale and Bitwise’s efforts to convert their crypto index funds into multi-asset ETFs, marking early steps toward more diversified spot products.
These developments coincided with record-breaking inflows and volumes in US-listed crypto ETFs, pointing to growing investor confidence as a more structured regulatory framework begins to take shape.
Data Sources:
TrackInsight (All ETF and ETP Data): https://www.trackinsight.com/services/data-services
CoinDesk (XBX, CD20, CD80, Centralised Exchange Data): https://indices.coindesk.com/indices; https://www.coindesk.com/price
Disclaimer: TrackInsight considers flows from an ETF’s perspective, treating the fund’s first AUM upon listing as its initial inflow, which may differ from other sources that account for pre-listing activity or conversions.
