$1.07B Crypto Outflow: US Investors Drive Sell-Off, Ending Six-Week Streak

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$1.07B Crypto Outflow Ended Six Weeks of Inflows and the US Drove All of it

Key Takeaways

  • Total weekly outflows: -$1.074B – first negative week in seven, third largest of 2026.
  • Bitcoin: -$982M week outflow, 91.4% of total, but only 0.78% of $126.6B AUM.
  • Ethereum: -$249M week outflow, 1.41% of $17.69B AUM.
  • XRP: +$67.6M inflows. Solana: +$55.1M. Both accelerating on recent weeks.

What ended the six-week streak

A recent report from CoinShares, compiled by James Butterfill using Bloomberg data through May 17, 2026, shows that digital asset funds experienced $1.074 billion in outflows last week. This marks the first week of negative flows in seven weeks and represents the third-largest weekly outflow of the year so far. Total assets under management (AUM) decreased from $159 billion to $156.87 billion. Butterfill suggests these outflows were likely triggered by geopolitical concerns related to Iran, though news surrounding the CLARITY Act helped to stabilize sentiment somewhat. Despite the overall outflows, 11 different digital assets still saw significant inflows exceeding $1 million, with positive flows reaching $174 million on Thursday alone.

US investors pulled out $1.14 billion during the week, causing a total net outflow of $1.07 billion. However, all other markets tracked actually saw a combined inflow of about $66 million. This means the overall outflow was solely due to decisions made by US investors – if you exclude the US, the week would have shown a net positive flow. Switzerland, Germany, Canada, and the Netherlands all experienced inflows of $23 million, $22 million, $13 million, and $8 million respectively. Despite the same global events, investors in Europe and other non-US markets continued to invest.

What Bitcoin and Ethereum’s outflows actually mean

Bitcoin experienced $982 million in outflows last week, making up the vast majority – 91.4% – of all money leaving digital asset funds. Ethereum saw $249 million in outflows as well. These outflows from Bitcoin and Ethereum totaled $1.231 billion, but were partially balanced by $157 million in inflows into other digital assets.

Bitcoin experienced a $982 million outflow last week, representing a significant portion of the total outflows in dollar terms (91.4%), but only a small fraction (0.78%) of its total assets under management (AUM) of $126.6 billion. Ethereum’s outflow of $249 million, while smaller in absolute terms, represents a larger percentage (1.41%) of its $17.69 billion AUM. This highlights that Ethereum’s outflow had a proportionally greater impact. So far this month, Ethereum has seen a net outflow of $73 million, but remains up $137 million year-to-date. However, last week’s outflow significantly reduced this year-to-date gain. Bitcoin, on the other hand, still shows a substantial year-to-date inflow of $3.936 billion, with last week’s $982 million outflow representing about 25% of that gain.

Blockchain equity ETFs also experienced outflows, with a total of $133 million leaving the market, according to Butterfill’s report.

What XRP and Solana’s inflows reveal

Bitcoin and Ethereum experienced some outflows last week, but XRP saw a significant increase with $67.6 million flowing in. Solana also performed well, with $55.1 million in inflows, and Butterfill noted that both XRP and Solana have been gaining momentum in recent weeks. Other cryptocurrencies with smaller inflows included Ton ($7.7 million), Sui ($4.7 million), Ondo ($4.1 million), Chainlink ($3.9 million), and Doge ($3.2 million).

As an analyst, I’ve been tracking weekly inflows, and XRP really stood out this week. With $67.6 million flowing in against a total of $2.677 billion in assets under management, XRP achieved a 2.54% flow-to-AUM ratio – the highest we’ve seen. This means XRP products attracted more new money, proportionally, compared to any other digital asset. For comparison, Solana’s ratio was 2.18%, while Bitcoin actually saw a negative flow of -0.78%. What’s particularly interesting is that altcoins, in general, are showing flow-to-AUM ratios three to four times higher than larger, established cryptocurrencies. This suggests increasing institutional interest in smaller crypto products, while larger caps are currently absorbing the brunt of any selling pressure.

What the MTD and YTD figures say about the trend

Even though money is flowing out each week, overall we’ve seen a net inflow of $521 million this month and $4.876 billion so far this year. While weekly outflows happen, the general trend is still positive.

Month-to-date, XRP and Solana have both seen significant gains of $107 million and $106 million respectively – their highest figures in the available data. Bitcoin remains up $358 million for the month, even with a recent weekly loss, indicating the loss hasn’t changed the overall monthly trend. Ethereum is the outlier, experiencing both a negative weekly and monthly performance, with a year-to-date gain of only $137 million – the smallest positive balance among the major cryptocurrencies.

If Bitcoin and Ethereum both see positive investment flows again for the week of May 25th, and if the recent decrease in US investments reverses to an increase, along with continued steady inflows for XRP and Solana, it would suggest the recent market reaction to events in Iran was temporary. This would likely indicate a return to the six-week period of positive growth we’ve been seeing.

If we see another week where more than $500 million flows out of Bitcoin products in the US, especially combined with decreasing investment in XRP and Solana, it would suggest a significant and lasting shift away from risk. This could mean the positive gains we’ve seen in these cryptocurrencies throughout the year are facing a serious challenge, not just a short-term dip.

This article is just for informational purposes and shouldn’t be taken as financial, investment, or trading advice. Coindoo.com doesn’t support or suggest any particular investment or cryptocurrency. Always do your own research and talk to a qualified financial advisor before investing.

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2026-05-18 19:01