Digital asset fund flows | May 18th, 2026
2 min read
Outflows of US$1.07bn end six-week positive streak on Iran-related risk-off
Digital asset investment products saw US$1.07bn of outflows, the first negative week in seven and the third-largest weekly outflow of 2026.
Total AuM fell to US$157bn from US$159bn the prior week, though 11 individual assets still recorded meaningful inflows above US$1m, suggesting CLARITY Act progress helped cushion the broader risk-off tone.
Bitcoin saw US$982m of outflows and Ethereum US$249m, while XRP and Solana continued to attract inflows of US$67.6m and US$55.1m respectively.
Digital asset investment products saw outflows of US$1.07bn, the first negative week in seven and the third-largest weekly outflow of 2026 behind only two weeks in late January. This likely reflects renewed geopolitical risk-off tied to Iran-related machinations, with the outflows concentrated in Bitcoin. News flow around the CLARITY Act appears to have improved sentiment at the margin, with 11 assets still recording meaningful inflows and Thursday breaking positive at US$174m.
Regionally, the US drove the entire outflow story with US$1,140m of outflows. By contrast, European appetite held up well: Switzerland recorded US$22.8m of inflows, Germany US$22.0m and Netherlands US$7.5m, while Canada saw US$12.6m.
Bitcoin saw US$982m of outflows, bringing year-to-date flows to US$3.9bn. Ethereum saw outflows of US$249m, its largest since 30th January. Blockchain equity ETFs were also caught in the risk-off, with US$133m of aggregate outflows.
Altcoins held up notably well. XRP recorded US$67.6m of inflows and Solana US$55.1m, both accelerating on recent weeks. Smaller but notable inflows came in across Ton at US$7.7m, Sui US$4.7m, Ondo US$4.1m, Chainlink US$3.9m and Doge US$3.2m, suggesting investors are increasingly looking past Bitcoin and Ethereum for selective exposure.
