Crypto exchange-traded products AUM rose 67% in Q1, outpacing asset prices by 34% YTD

The total value of assets under management (AUM) for crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) increased by 67% in the first three months of 2023, according to the latest report detailing the statistics.

The report was released on Wednesday, 12 April by Fineqia International Inc. (CSE: FNQ), a publicly-traded company that invests in early and growth stage technology projects and a debt securities manager in the UK.

Digital assets ETPs AUM outpaced underlying crypto prices in Q1 by 34%

An analysis of the global exchange-traded products (ETPs) that have cryptocurrencies as underlying assets showed that the total value of these products in terms of AUM increased from $20 billion to $33.3 billion during Q1.

Meanwhile, the total crypto market cap increased from $800 billion to $1.19 trillion – indicating a 67% spike for crypto ETP AUM and 50% growth for cryptocurrency market valuation over the quarter. According to Fineqia, the difference highlights a 34% premium growth in ETP investment inflows relative to the underlying digital assets market valuation.

In March, crypto ETPs AUM rose 17% while crypto prices increased 11%, with Fineqia’s February report (which Invezz highlighted here) having put the total crypto ETPs AUM at $28 billion.

The analysis of 160 ETPs, which included exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and exchange-traded notes (ETNs), also showed that the AUM of ETPs holding top altcoins rose 1% over the quarter. However, those representing a basket of cryptocurrencies surged by 14%.

Fineqia CEO Bundeep Singh Rangar commented on the statistics as being indicative of the “upward momentum” that had characterised the first quarter of 2023. Rangar also noted that the data revealed renewed interest in digital asset ETPs from investors.

Bitcoin and Ethereum accounted for 93% of total crypto ETP AUM in Q1

Bitcoin and Ethereum price growth in the quarter, which accounted for 71% and 52% in year-to-date gains, alongside related capital inflows, contributed to the ETPs AUM, Fineqia researchers noted in the report.

The jump in BTC and ETH prices were significant factors as the top two cryptocurrencies by market cap accounted for roughly 93% of the total crypto ETP AUM in the quarter.

BTC price at $28.500 on 31 March showed a 21% increase from prices recorded at the end of February, which also saw the assets under management of ETPs holding bitcoin rise by 21% – from $19.2 billion to $23.2 billion. A similar trend was observed for Ethereum, whose price rose 11% over the same period, and saw the AUM of ETH-based ETPs jump 11% – from $6.85 billion to $7.6 billion.

The crypto ETP AUM statistics reflect the value of products offered by top providers such as 21Shares AG, Grayscale Investment, VanEck, MorningStars and TrackInSight SAS. All the data was from publicly available sources, Fineqia noted in its report.