Crypto ETF assets surge $12B amid Iran-US geopolitical tensions

Crypto-linked Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs) gained back their bullish momentum while the digital assets market is still dealing with uncertainty. Data shows that crypto ETF assets have surged by around $12 billion since the start of US–Iran tensions. This signals that the capital is quietly rotating back into digital assets.

These funds have reportedly pulled in $1.06 billion last week. It turns out to be the strongest weekly inflow since mid-January. It marks the third straight week of green inflows. This takes the total over that stretch to over $2.8 billion. The recent buying rush has nearly offset the $3.9 billion that left the market during the prior five-week drawdown.

Bitcoin ETFs pull $2.2B in three weeks

According to the data, Bitcoin ETFs did most of the heavy lifting as they added $793 million. It is about 75% of last week’s total. Over the past three weeks, Bitcoin-linked products alone have brought in $2.2 billion. The latest data shows that March 18 saw almost $130 million leaving the funds. Fidelity’s FBTC reported an outflow of more than $103 million alone. Grayscale’s GBTC posted a withdrawal of $18.8 million.

Ethereum followed the trend well with $315 million in inflows over the last 3 weeks. Even after that, year-to-date flows for Ether products are still hovering near flat. This shows how uneven demand has been across assets.

ETH ETFs posted an outflow of over $55 million on March 18. Fidelity’s FETH saw $37.11 million leave the fund. Grayscale’s ETHE posted $8.8 million on the same day.

The total crypto market cap dropped by almost 4% after the FOMC policy meeting. It now stands at around $2.44 trillion. Its 24-hour trading volume hovers around $110.5 billion. Bitcoin price plunged by more than 4% over the last day. BTC fell straight from above $74,000 to $71,000.

Ether also took the hit as it dipped by 6% in the last 24 hours. ETH is trading at an average price of $2,198 at the press time.

Fed holds tight

Data shows that since the US-Iran conflict began, total crypto ETF assets under management have climbed 9.4% to around $140 billion. Most of that money is reportedly coming from the US, which accounted for roughly 96% of last week’s inflows. However, smaller contributions are coming in from Canada, Switzerland, and Hong Kong. Germany, notably, saw its first weekly decline this year.

This led to a narrative that investors are returning to crypto despite geopolitical stress. However, the flow data suggests something else, too. The investors might be back just because of the war stress.

BlackRock’s IBIT led the green rally of inflows. It managed to pull in over $600 million last week. It makes up around 78% of all Bitcoin ETF inflows. This turns out not to be a broad retail demand but a concentrated institutional buy-in. BlackRock now holds over 784,000 BTC. On the other side, Strategy sits at around 761,000 BTC, and the gap is closing quickly.

After a massive rally halt, Gold is still up by 22% year-to-date. Stablecoin supply has also climbed to a record $306 billion. Bitcoin itself has rebounded almost 20% from its February lows, where it was trading around $60,000. Exchange balances have dropped to multi-year lows at around 2.44 million BTC. This suggests that coins are moving off trading platforms.

Amid all the chaos, the Federal Reserve has signaled that rate cuts are not imminent. Inflation data continues to surprise to the upside. Fed Chair Jerome Powell mentioned that rising oil prices are already feeding into inflation expectations. 

Policymakers have lifted their 2026 inflation forecast to 2.7%, up from 2.4%. The broader market backdrop is also deteriorating. US equities looked under pressure, and the Dow has posted its weakest levels of the year.

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