A monthly column on the global crypto markets and ETF/ETP flows, brought to you by CoinDesk Indices, Trackinsight and ETF Express.
Joshua de Vos, Research Lead, CoinDesk, writes that May 2026 ended two consecutive months of net inflows, with global crypto ETP flows swinging back to heavy redemptions.
According to TrackInsight data, global digital-asset investment products recorded USD2.39 billion in net outflows, against USD1.79 billion of net inflows in April, as total assets under management fell to USD141.1 billion from USD158.7 billion a month earlier.
US-listed vehicles accounted for almost the entire redemption, while flows outside the US, which had already cooled in April, turned modestly negative.
The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), which captures a diversified cross-section of the top 20 digital assets, fell 1.11 per cent in May after gaining 5.45 per cent in April. The more concentrated CoinDesk 5 Index (CD5) declined 3.73 per cent and Bitcoin itself fell 3.56 per cent, a sharp reversal from April, when Bitcoin (up 11.87 per cent) and the CD5 (up 9.91 per cent) led a broad rally.
The return hierarchy also inverted: large caps led in April, whereas in May the broad index outperformed, indicating that large-cap assets bore the brunt of the decline while diversified exposure offered relative shelter.
Asset flows
According to data from TrackInsight, outflows were concentrated in Bitcoin- and Ether-linked instruments globally, while parts of the altcoin market, led by XRP, Hyperliquid and Solana, drew net inflows, a divergence that widened over the month.
Bitcoin: BTC-linked products recorded net outflows of USD2.21 billion, reversing the USD1.52 billion of inflows seen in April, while total category AUM fell to USD113.7 billion from USD128.1 billion, though bitcoin retained its dominance of the global crypto ETP market by asset size.
Ethereum: Ether-linked products experienced net outflows of USD523.9 million, ending May with USD15.2 billion in aggregate AUM and snapping a two-month run of inflows that had reached USD150.9 million in April. ETH outflows again exceeded BTC outflows on a flow-relative-to-AUM basis.
Multi-asset: Diversified baskets recorded net outflows of USD11.1 million, with total AUM of USD2.30 billion, slipping back into redemptions after a modest USD1.2 million inflow in April.
Altcoins: XRP-linked products accelerated to USD141.9 million in net inflows (AUM: USD2.47 billion) from USD32.5 million in April, while Solana extended its run to a fourth consecutive month of inflows with a further USD109.6 million (AUM: USD2.38 billion). Hyperliquid’s first listings via Bitwise and 21Shares also proved successful, drawing USD115.9 million in net inflows in its first full month of trading.
Flows by geography
Americas: Net outflows of approximately USD2.35 billion, a reversal from USD1.71 billion of inflows in April, driven by US-listed products (USD2.37 billion in redemptions) and only marginally offset by Canada (USD19.1 million in inflows). US-domiciled ETFs held USD119.2 billion in AUM, representing roughly 84.5 per cent of global market share, down from 85.1 per cent in April.
Europe: Net outflows of approximately USD15 million, down from USD68.8 million of inflows in April, as inflows into Switzerland (USD56.0 million, AUM USD4.14 billion) and Jersey (USD38.6 million, AUM USD4.32 billion) were outweighed by redemptions in Ireland (USD72.3 million) and Sweden (USD16.1 million).
APAC: Net outflows of approximately USD22 million, led by Hong Kong (USD19.0 million) with Australia (USD3.7 million) also lower, a swing from USD2.2 million of inflows in April. Regional participation remained modest.
Flows by currency
USD: USD-denominated products recorded USD2.40 billion in net outflows, while maintaining USD133.1 billion in AUM, the dominant share of global crypto ETP assets.
CAD: CAD-denominated products recorded USD30.8 million in net inflows, with total AUM of USD4.37 billion.
EUR / SEK / AUD: EUR-denominated products recorded USD12.7 million in outflows (AUM: USD1.35 billion), SEK saw USD5.4 million in outflows (AUM: USD1.55 billion), and AUD saw USD3.7 million in outflows (AUM: USD663 million).
Largest ETF gainers (by May net flows)
NEOS Bitcoin High Income ETF (BTCI): +USD141.8M; USD1.24B AUM
Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL): +USD79.3M; USD672.2M AUM
Morgan Stanley Bitcoin Trust (MSBT): +USD73.9M; USD260.1M AUM
Bitwise Hyperliquid ETF (BHYP): +USD62.0M; USD71.1M AUM
iShares Staked Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHB): +USD56.1M; USD584.3M AUM
21Shares Hyperliquid ETF (THYP): +USD49.7M; USD61.6M AUM
NEOS Boosted Bitcoin High Income ETF (XBCI): +USD42.8M; USD71.8M AUM
Franklin XRP ETF (XRPZ): +USD38.7M; USD273.8M AUM
iShares Bitcoin ETP (IB1T): +USD33.1M; USD1.06B AUM
Outlook
May’s headline outflow ended two months of inflows and was overwhelmingly a US, large-cap reversal: the very funds that led April’s inflows led May’s redemptions, with the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) swinging from USD937.0 million of inflows to USD1.31 billion of outflows, Fidelity’s FBTC from USD398.7 million to USD207.8 million of outflows and the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) from USD92.0 million to USD423.8 million of outflows.
The gainers list, by contrast, was dominated by income, staking and newly launched products. The NEOS Bitcoin High Income ETF extended its momentum to lead all funds at USD141.8 million, while Bitwise’s Solana staking and Hyperliquid funds, the iShares Staked Ethereum Trust and a cluster of XRP vehicles all drew capital, signalling continued product-level broadening even amid the major redemptions.
With the CD20 down just 1.11 per cent against a 3.73 per cent fall in the large-cap CD5, diversified and altcoin exposures showed a relative resilience that the flow data corroborated. That resilience has since been overwhelmed: by early June, bitcoin had fallen to around USD62,000 and the major indices were down a further 15 per cent or more, leaving no sign that May’s outflows marked a bottom and pointing to intensifying pressure into June.
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.
