From March 16 to 20, market participants invested $230 million in cryptocurrency investment products, significantly lower than previous weeks, according to a report by CoinShares.
The decline in weekly inflows into crypto funds is attributed to the Federal Reserve's meeting on March 18, during which the regulator kept the key interest rate unchanged at 3.5-3.75%. Investors interpreted this decision as a "hawkish pause."
This conclusion is supported by the data: in the first two days, funds attracted $635 million, but after the FOMC meeting, they lost $405 million. By Friday, the outflow had slowed.
Market players are also exercising caution due to ongoing military actions in the Middle East.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell confirmed that the impact of events in Iran on the U.S. economy remains uncertain. The oil rally due to supply disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz could lead to rising inflation, negatively affecting risk assets.
"But it is still too early to discuss the scale and duration of the potential impact on the economy," Powell added.
All regional exchanges ended the past week with a net capital inflow, which CoinShares described as "encouraging." The U.S. led with $153 million, followed by Germany ($30.2 million) and Switzerland ($27.5 million).
Among the assets, the majority of inflows were into Bitcoin, totaling $219 million. Structures allowing short positions on cryptocurrencies attracted $6 million. Experts suggest this indicates a "persistent divergence of opinions regarding the prospects" of digital gold.
Solana funds received $17 million, marking a positive trend for the seventh consecutive week, with total funds raised during this period reaching $136 million.
"Recently, this asset has become one of the most sought after," CoinShares commented.
Ethereum-based products saw an outflow of $27.5 million, breaking a three-week streak of capital inflows.
Recall that from March 9 to 13, inflows into cryptocurrency-focused investment products totaled $1.06 billion.