CoinShares’ weekly digital asset fund flows report, authored by James Butterfill and based on Bloomberg data as of close May 17, 2026, records total outflows of $1.074 billion, the first negative week in seven and the third-largest weekly outflow of 2026 behind only two weeks in late January. Total AUM fell to $156.87 billion from $159 billion the prior week. Butterfill attributes the outflows likely to Iran-related geopolitical risk-off, with the CLARITY Act news flow helping cushion sentiment at the margin, 11 individual assets still recorded meaningful inflows above $1 million, and Thursday alone produced $174 million in positive flows.
The United States drove $1,140 million in outflows while every other tracked market combined produced net positive flows of approximately $66 million, which means the week’s headline $1.07 billion outflow is entirely a US investor decision: remove the US from the table and the week was positive. Switzerland added $23 million, Germany $22 million, Canada $13 million, and Netherlands $8 million. European and non-US appetite held up through the same geopolitical event that caused US investors to reduce exposure.
Bitcoin absorbed -$982 million in weekly outflows, representing 91.4% of total outflows in absolute dollar terms. Ethereum absorbed -$249 million. Together they account for $1.231 billion in outflows, offset by $157 million in net inflows across all other assets.
Bitcoin’s -$982 million outflow is 91.4% of the total by absolute dollar value but only 0.78% of Bitcoin’s $126.6 billion AUM, while Ethereum’s -$249 million outflow is 1.41% of its $17.69 billion AUM, a proportionally larger drawdown from a proportionally smaller product base, which is the ETH-specific data point the absolute figures obscure. Ethereum’s MTD flow is -$73 million and YTD flow is +$137 million. Last week’s outflow has significantly eroded Ethereum’s year-to-date inflow position, which stands at +$137 million. Bitcoin’s YTD remains at +$3.936 billion, meaning last week’s -$982M outflow represents approximately 25% of Bitcoin’s $3.936 billion YTD base.
Blockchain equity ETFs were also caught in the risk-off, recording $133 million in aggregate outflows per Butterfill’s report.
While Bitcoin and Ethereum saw outflows, XRP recorded $67.6 million in weekly inflows and Solana recorded $55.1 million, both described by Butterfill as accelerating on recent weeks. Smaller inflows came in across Ton at $7.7 million, Sui at $4.7 million, Ondo at $4.1 million, Chainlink at $3.9 million, and Doge at $3.2 million.
XRP’s $67.6 million weekly inflow against $2.677 billion in AUM represents a 2.54% weekly flow-to-AUM ratio, the highest in the table, which means XRP products attracted more new capital relative to their existing size than any other asset class this week, including the large-cap products that dominate the absolute flow figures. Solana’s equivalent ratio is 2.18%. Bitcoin’s is -0.78%. The altcoin flow-to-AUM ratios are running three to four times higher than the large-cap equivalents in the positive direction, describing a market where institutional interest in smaller crypto products is accelerating in relative terms while large-cap products absorb the risk-off selling.
Despite the weekly outflow, the month-to-date total remains positive at $521 million and the year-to-date total stands at $4.876 billion. The weekly outflow has reduced but not reversed the broader inflow trend.
The MTD figures show XRP at +$107 million and Solana at +$106 million, their strongest month-to-date figures visible in the current dataset. Bitcoin’s MTD of +$358 million remains positive despite the weekly outflow, confirming the single week has not reversed the monthly direction. Ethereum’s MTD of -$73 million is the exception, it is the only major asset with both a negative week and a negative month, and its YTD of +$137 million is the thinnest positive balance among the major assets.
A return to positive weekly flows in the week of May 25 across Bitcoin and Ethereum simultaneously, with US outflows reversing to net positive while XRP and Solana maintain their current weekly inflow pace, would confirm the Iran-related risk-off was a single-week event and the six-week positive trend is resuming.
A second consecutive week of total outflows exceeding $500 million, concentrated in US Bitcoin products, with XRP and Solana inflows declining from current levels, would indicate the risk-off is sustained and the positive YTD trend is being structurally tested rather than temporarily interrupted.
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