The assets held in Bitcoin ETF and other cryptocurrency exchange-traded products have mushroomed to a new all-time high of $95.40 billion, according to research by Fineqia International Inc (CSE:FNQ, OTC:FNQQF).
In May alone, the AUM of exchange-traded products with digital assets as underlying collateral increased 18% from $81 billion at the end of the prior month.
The total AUM recorded at the end of May represents a new all-time high for digital asset ETPs after falling in April, surpassing the previous high of $94.4 billion at the end of March.
Total market value of digital assets increased by 16.90% to approximately $2.68 trillion from $2.29 trillion in May, meaning ETPs increased by a 6.5% premium compared to the underlying assets, Fineqia noted.
Since the start of the year, the AUM of ETPs holding digital assets has risen by 93% compared to the digital assets market cap increasing 51%, growth of 82% in the premium for ETPs relative to the underlying assets.
Fineqia said the premium in May was boosted by anticipation of the approval of ethereum spot ETFs by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, which was confirmed on May 23, further boosting demand and positive sentiment around financial products with underlying digital assets.
"Ethereum ETFs are like the second domino in a long line," said Fineqia CEO Bundeep Singh Rangar.
"What started with Bitcoin is now carrying on to ETH and paves the way for multiple altcoins to likely be approved as mainstream digital assets in the future. This is already evident in various parts of the world, fundamentally reshaping investment theses."
In May, while the price of bitcoin (BTC) rose 12.30% to $67,150, the AUM of ETPs with BTC as their underlying asset swelled 15.9% to $73.3 billion.
These figures underscore a net inflow throughout May, Fineqia said, following a month of lower demand in April that indicated neutral flow into ETPs holding BTC.
BlackRock's BTC spot ETF (IBIT) surpassed Grayscale's BTC spot ETF (GBTC) in AUM - $19.7 billion to $19.2 billion - reflecting the ongoing trend of outflows from GBTC following its conversion from a trust to an ETF, contrasting the robust inflows into IBIT since its inception.
Year-to-date, ETPs holding BTC tallied a 106% increase, while the BTC price rose 59.7%. Fineqia highlighted a 77.60% premium in growth for financial products with BTC as the underlying asset in 2024, demonstrated by the $14 billion in net inflow recorded in BTC spot ETFs across the US.
In May, ethereum (ETH) saw a 26.8% increase in value, rising to $3,785 from $2,985 at the end of April, while the AUM of ETH-denominated ETPs increased by 27.90%, reaching $15.3 billion.
Fineqia expects this trend to reverse once the SEC approves ETH spot ETFs for trading, leading to net inflows into financial products holding ETH and mirroring the premium growth observed for ETPs holding BTC.
The start date for ETH spot ETFs is currently expected in July or August.
ETPs representing a diversified basket of cryptocurrencies saw a 20.8% increase in AUM during May, rising to $3.25 billion, while ETPs representing an index of alternative coins increased 20.8% to $3.59 billion, with solana (SOL) remaining the dominant asset in this index at almost half of AUM.