Crypto funds recorded a second consecutive week of inflows, with an increase of $716 million, while investor sentiment in the cryptocurrency markets continued to stabilize and improve.
The fresh capital raised the total assets under management (AuM) to $180 billion, marking a recovery of 7.9% from the lows in November. However, this is still significantly below the sector's all-time high of $264 billion.
Crypto inflows reach $716 million as crypto sentiment rises
According to weekly flow data, crypto inflows were broadly supported across key regions, indicating renewed global participation. The U.S. led with $483 million, followed by Germany with $96.9 million and Canada with $80.7 million.
This highlights a coordinated return of institutional interest in North America and Europe.
Bitcoin was again the main beneficiary, with $352 million in weekly inflows. This brings the year-to-date (YTD) inflows of Bitcoin to $27.1 billion, which still lags behind the $41.6 billion recorded in 2024, but still shows renewed momentum after months of hesitation.
At the same time, short-Bitcoin products saw outflows of $18.7 million, the largest intake since March 2025.
Historically, similar outflows coincide with price bottoms, suggesting that traders are increasingly giving up their bear positions as downward pressure eases.
However, daily data showed that there were small outflows on Thursday and Friday, which analysts attribute to the release of new U.S. macroeconomic data indicating ongoing inflationary pressure.
"Daily data showed small outflows on Thursday and Friday, which we believe was a response to macroeconomic data in the U.S. indicating ongoing inflationary pressure," wrote James Butterfill of CoinShares.
That brief pause suggests that while sentiment is improving, it remains sensitive to interest rate expectations and signals from the Federal Reserve.
XRP and Chainlink show notable demand
Outside of Bitcoin, XRP continued its strong multi-month run, with an intake of $245 million in weekly inflows. This brings the YTD inflows of XRP to $3.1 billion, which is a significant improvement compared to the $608 million total for all of 2024.
The sustained demand reflects a lasting optimism about institutional use cases of XRP and the regulatory stance in key jurisdictions.
Chainlink recorded one of the most notable performances of the week, with $52.8 million in inflows, the largest weekly intake ever.
Notably, this figure now represents more than 54% of the total ETP AuM of Chainlink, demonstrating how quickly capital is moving towards oracle- and infrastructure-focused crypto assets.
Change in sentiment after the rise in November
The latest inflow series follows a significantly stronger period at the end of November. For the week ending on November 29, crypto funds recorded a strong $1.07 billion in inflows, driven by rising expectations of possible interest rate cuts in 2026.
Together, the rebound at the end of November and the current $716 million follow-up suggest a gradual but consistent shift in institutional sentiment, even as concerns about inflation remain unresolved.
Although the total AuM is still well below peak levels, the steady return of capital to Bitcoin, XRP, and Chainlink suggests growing confidence that the worst of the recent risk-off cycle is behind us.
