A monthly column on the global crypto markets and ETF/ETP flows, brought to you by CoinDesk Indices, Trackinsight and Institutional Asset Manager’s sister title, ETF Express.
Joshua de Vos, Research Lead, CoinDesk, writes that January opened with a broad-based retracement across digital asset markets, as risk appetite softened following the strong institutional inflow cycle that defined late 2025.
CoinDesk’s flagship benchmarks declined materially over the month, reflecting renewed pressure across both mega-cap assets and the broader altcoin market.
The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), which captures a diversified cross-section of the top 20 digital assets, fell 13.32 per cent in January, while the more concentrated CoinDesk 5 Index (CD5) declined 11.54 per cent, demonstrating relative resilience among the largest assets.
Asset flows
According to data from TrackInsight, outflows remained heavily concentrated in bitcoin- and Ether-linked instruments, though Solana and XRP products saw net inflows overall.
Bitcoin: BTC-linked products remained the dominant category by both AUM (USD128.6 billion) and flows (-USD361.9 million), reinforcing bitcoin’s continued role as the primary focus for activity within crypto ETP portfolios.
Ethereum: Ether-linked products experienced net outflows of USD160.6 million during the month, though Ethereum remains the second-largest digital asset by ETP AUM (USD21.4 billion).
Multi-asset: Diversified baskets remained a smaller allocation, with total AUM of USD2.9 billion, while net outflows reached USD52.2 million in January.
Altcoins: Solana- and XRP-linked products were among the only assets to register positive net flows. Solana and XRP maintained AUMs of USD3.1B billion and USD3.2 billion, respectively, and recorded net inflows of USD59.5 million and USD61.0 million over the month.
Flows by geography
Geographically, January flows were dominated by redemptions in the United States, while several European jurisdictions recorded net inflows.
United States: US-listed products recorded net outflows of USD455.4m million in January, while total AUM remained elevated at USD138.4 billion, accounting for the majority of global crypto ETP assets.
Switzerland: Swiss-domiciled products recorded net inflows of USD126.1 million, the largest across all jurisdictions, bringing total AUM to USD4.52 billion.
Jersey: Products domiciled in Jersey attracted USD98.2 million in net inflows during the month, with aggregate AUM reaching USD4.95 billion.
Germany: German-listed products recorded net inflows of USD31.9 million, ending January with USD2.14 billion in AUM.
Canada: Canadian products recorded net inflows of USD39.0 million, with a total AUM of USD5.88 billion.
Flows by currency
USD: USD-denominated products recorded net outflows of USD243.7 million in January, while maintaining USD153.9 billion in AUM, representing the dominant share of global crypto ETP assets.
CAD: CAD-denominated products recorded net inflows of USD39.2 million, with total AUM of USD4.88 billion.
EUR: EUR-denominated products recorded net inflows of USD3.8 million bringing aggregate AUM to USD1.61 billion.
Largest ETF gainers (by January net flows)
ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO): +USD362.9 million; USD2.41 billion AUM
iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT): +USD280.2 million; USD64.80 billion AUM
NEOS Bitcoin High Income ETF (BTCI): +USD144.6 million; USD1.07 billion AUM
Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust ETF (ETH): +USD110.8 million; USD2.05 billion AUM
iShares Bitcoin ETP (IB1T): +USD104.4 million; USD0.80 billion AUM
WisdomTree Physical Bitcoin (WBIT): +USD81.9 million; USD1.32B billion AUM
Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF (FBTC): +USD77.7 million; USD0.97 billion AUM
Bitwise XRP ETF (XRP): +USD72.9 million; USD0.29 billion AUM
CoinShares Bitcoin Mining ETF (WGMI): +USD69.0 million; USD0.34B billion AUM
Franklin XRP ETF (EZBC): +USD63.4 million; USD0.26B billion AUM
Outlook
January closed as one of the weakest monthly periods for digital asset ETP flows since early 2024, with net outflows concentrated in bitcoin- and Ether-linked products despite total category AUM remaining high.
Early February has extended this pressure, with price declines deepening across both the CoinDesk 20 and CoinDesk 5 indices, signalling continued risk-off positioning across institutional portfolios.
With BTC and ETH products accounting for the majority of outstanding ETP assets, near-term flow direction is likely to remain closely tied to broader market drawdowns.
However, the resilience of altcoin-linked inflows observed in January suggests that allocation activity is becoming increasingly segmented by asset type, rather than uniformly risk-on or risk-off from an institutional standpoint.
Data Sources:
TrackInsight (All ETF and ETP Data): https://www.trackinsight.com/services/data-services
CoinDesk (Bitcoin, CD5, CD20, 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.
