Emily Walker
While smaller investors may be reacting to widespread market sell-offs, institutional investors in cryptocurrencies have taken a different approach, channeling hundreds of millions into digital asset funds last week.
A report from CoinShares indicates that digital asset investment products witnessed inflows amounting to $308 million. This influx has overshadowed the $576 million in outflows experienced on December 19, which was the largest on record for a single day. In the last two days of the previous week, total outflows reached $1 billion.
The report clarifies, “Although these outflows may seem concerning, they only represent 0.37% of total assets under management (AuM), making it the 13th largest outflow ever recorded.” It further notes that the biggest outflow occurred in mid-2022, coinciding with a Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) interest rate hike that led to $540 million in outflows, which represented 2.3% of AuM.
Market corrections resulted in a decline of $17.7 billion in AuM for digital asset exchange-traded products (ETPs). CoinShares attributes this to market reactions to economic projections released by the FOMC on December 18, which forecast US economic growth at 2.5% for this year and 2.1% for 2025.
Institutional Investors Favor Bitcoin and Ethereum
According to CoinShares, the most significant outflows last week were seen in multi-asset investment products, which experienced a decrease of $121 million.
Conversely, Bitcoin ($BTC) gained $375 million in net inflows, while Ethereum ($ETH) attracted $51 million. Significant purchases from whales contributed to Ethereum’s inflows, with over $1 billion (340,000 $ETH) acquired despite the current market correction for ETH.
In addition, Binance reported that Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw net inflows of $62.73 million from December 16 to December 20, bringing the total historical net inflow for ETH ETFs to $2.328 billion, with a total net asset value of $12.155 billion.
Whale Activity Boosts Meme Coin Prices
Ethereum is not the only token that is drawing whale attention. Dogecoin ($DOGE) has also seen heightened whale transactions, with two notable transactions totaling $23.5 million and $34 million.
Large inflows from whales typically denote bullish investor sentiment and can foreshadow a price rally, indicating a potential shift in market mood. This is particularly encouraging for new meme coin entrants like Pepe Unchained ($PEPU) and Crypto All-Stars ($STARS), as well as Wall Street Pepe ($WEPE), which is currently in presale.
Wall Street Pepe aims to challenge whales involved in insider trading groups by building a coalition of retail investors. He plans to share trading strategies and market insights with these investors, helping them become more empowered in the crypto space. This relatable mission positions $WEPE as a standout among meme coins this December.
In spite of a broader market downturn, interest in the $WEPE presale has surged. Since its launch 21 days ago, $WEPE has accumulated over $35 million, including $1.67 million in just the last 24 hours. This raises the intriguing question: could $WEPE have what it takes to surpass $PEPE?
Now’s the Time for Retail Investors to Shine
The current price of $WEPE is $0.000365 and is expected to increase today. This presents a valuable opportunity for early investors—and a chance to join $WEPE’s mission to balance the scales for retail and institutional crypto participants.
However, it is essential to conduct your own research (DYOR) as this article is not financial advice. To learn more, visit the official website, review the $WEPE whitepaper, and check out the X channel.