Global crypto funds AUM slumps 29% to $34 billion in May: Report
NEW DELHI: Total assets under management (AUM) across digital asset investment products fell 28.6% sequentially to $34.2 billion as of 26 May amid a major fall in prices of various cryptocurrencies, according to a report by digital asset data provider CryptoCompare.
Prices of Bitcoin and Ethereum fell 27.3% and 38.1%, respectively, as of 26 May, a large decline following a turbulent month for the two largest cryptocurrencies as the collapse of Luna and TerraUSD sent shockwaves through the sector.
“Macro sentiment around risk-assets has been the leading narrative in the markets, with the Fed’s hawkish behaviour, as well as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, leading to increased levels of fear amongst market participants,” CryptoCompare said in a report.
Meanwhile, traditional risk-on assets such as equities have also suffered in May, with the S&P 500 falling 5.01% in the same time period.
In individual assets, Bitcoin’s AUM fell 26.8% to $24.0 billion in May, while slightly gaining market share, currently at 70.1% of the total AUM, up from 68.1% in April. Moreover, ethereum’s AUM fell 33.9% to $8.52 billion.
Grayscale products continue to represent the vast majority of AUM at $25.7 billion (75.3% of total) followed by those of XBT Provider at $2.11 billion (6.18% of total) and 21Shares at $1.21bn (3.53% of total).
Regarding product type, AUM in trust products (dominated by Grayscale Investment LLC, the operator of the world’s biggest crypto fund,) fell by 29.3% to $27 billion (79.0% of total AUM).
Trust products are closed-ended investment fund established as a trust.
Despite huge losses in AUM, aggregate daily volumes across all crypto funds rose by an average of 5.11% from April to May (till 26 May). This is the first month-on-month increase since October 2021. Average daily volumes now stand at $249 million.
In May, Grayscale’s Bitcoin trust product (GBTC) maintained its position as the highest traded trust product. Average daily volume of the fund totalled $110mn (up 8.45%), this was followed by Grayscale’s Ethereum trust with an average daily volume of $56.8mn (down 15.1%).
Meanwhile, bitcoin-based products experienced losses over the last 30 days, ranging from 22.7% to 29.1%, while ethereum-based products saw losses ranging from 31.0% to 38.3%.
All tracked products experienced losses over the last 30 days, with the worst performer being Grayscale’s Digital Large Cap Fund (GDLC) product, with a 38.5% fall.