US crypto funds hit $7.5 billion in 2025
U.S. crypto investment funds have experienced a strong resurgence in 2025, recording over $7.5 billion in net inflows so far this year, according to a May 19 report from CoinShares. This marks a full recovery from the nearly $7 billion in outflows that took place in February and March. The momentum has continued with a fifth consecutive week of positive inflows, highlighting a renewed appetite for digital assets among institutional and retail investors.
Last week alone, U.S.-based crypto funds attracted $785 million, with the United States contributing the lion’s share at $681 million. Other notable contributors included Germany with $86.3 million and Hong Kong with $24.4 million. Analysts point to a key macroeconomic development — the 90-day pause on new import tariffs announced by the White House on May 12 — as a turning point. The pause resulted in a 24% tariff cut for both the U.S. and China, boosting broader investor sentiment and risk appetite.
The renewed optimism was visible on crypto exchanges. On May 13, just a day after the tariff announcement, Coinbase saw a net outflow of 9,739 BTC — worth over $1 billion — marking the highest net Bitcoin withdrawal from the platform in 2025. Bitwise’s European research head, André Dragosch, interpreted this as a sign of accelerating institutional accumulation.
Among individual assets, Ethereum (ETH) stood out as the top performer, registering $205 million in inflows last week and bringing its year-to-date total to over $575 million. The uptick is credited to renewed investor confidence following the successful Pectra upgrade, which was deployed on the Ethereum mainnet on May 7. The upgrade introduced several improvements, including higher staking limits and account abstraction through EIP-7702. The appointment of Tomasz Stańczak as co-executive director also contributed to the positive sentiment.
In contrast, Solana (SOL) investment products were the only major crypto assets to register net outflows, totaling $890,000 for the week.
Adding to the positive developments, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin proposed a plan to reduce the technical burden of running a local Ethereum node. The proposal would shrink the current 1.3TB data load by allowing nodes to sync only the most relevant information, improving accessibility and enhancing censorship resistance.
The recent inflows and technological advancements signal growing institutional confidence and maturing infrastructure across the crypto ecosystem.
Source: Cointelegraph
German government misses $2.3 billion profit by selling bitcoin early at $57K
In 2024, the German government made a costly decision to liquidate nearly 50,000 Bitcoin (BTC), missing out on more than $2.3 billion in potential profits, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence. This misstep occurred when the government chose to sell its crypto holdings in June and July 2024 at an average price of $57,900 per Bitcoin, far below the current market value.
The Bitcoin in question — 49,858 BTC worth approximately $2.89 billion at the time of sale — was held in a wallet labeled “German Government (BKA)” and was believed to be seized assets from the operators of Movie2k, a now-defunct illegal movie streaming website. As of May 19, 2025, Bitcoin is trading above $104,700, meaning that had the government held onto its BTC, the value of its holdings would now exceed $5.24 billion, according to Arkham.
The selling activity began to raise public attention on June 19, 2024, when the government-linked wallet transferred 6,500 BTC — valued at more than $425 million — to various exchanges. These transfers continued in the weeks that followed and were characterized by aggressive selling behavior across multiple platforms. According to Arkham’s founder, Miguel Morel, the transaction patterns suggest the government prioritized liquidity and speed over price optimization, potentially driving down Bitcoin’s market price during that period.
Morel remarked:
“The last thing I would have expected is that they would just go to five different exchanges and start market selling. […] It just reads like they’re trying to get as much liquidity from each order book as possible.”
This approach — selling large amounts of BTC without careful execution — likely exacerbated downward price pressureon Bitcoin during the summer of 2024. However, once the wallet was emptied, investor fears of continued government sell-offs subsided. The market responded positively, and Bitcoin rebounded above $60,000 on July 14, 2024, the day after the wallet’s balance hit zero.
Critics have questioned the financial logic behind the timing of the sales, especially given Bitcoin’s historical volatility and long-term upward trend. Rather than maximizing returns, the German government appears to have acted out of a need for immediate liquidity, possibly for budgetary or operational reasons.
This episode has sparked debate within the financial and crypto communities about state-level digital asset management. While it’s not uncommon for governments to sell seized assets, the German government’s non-strategic liquidation is being viewed as a significant missed opportunity, especially as more nations begin to explore Bitcoin as a long-term reserve asset.
Ultimately, the case illustrates both the challenges and opportunities of sovereign Bitcoin ownership. As crypto markets mature and BTC adoption grows, governments may need to reconsider how they manage and monetize digital assets — especially when billions of dollars are at stake.
Source: Cointelegraph
Sovereign funds boost bitcoin exposure via MicroStrategy, backing $500K BTC forecast by 2029
Standard Chartered Bank maintains its bold prediction that Bitcoin (BTC) will reach $500,000 before the end of Donald Trump’s potential second term in 2029, supported by growing indirect exposure among sovereign investors. According to Geoffrey Kendrick, the bank’s global head of digital assets research, the latest U.S. SEC 13F filings for Q1 2025 show a notable rise in sovereign and institutional holdings of MicroStrategy (MSTR) shares — a company known for holding large amounts of Bitcoin — rather than direct investments in spot Bitcoin ETFs.
While direct ETF adoption, particularly in BlackRock’s IBIT, was underwhelming, with the State of Wisconsin Investment Board fully exiting its 3,400 BTC-equivalent position, Kendrick emphasized the strategic shift toward indirect exposure. For example, Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund, modestly increased its IBIT stake from 4,700 to 5,000 BTC-equivalent. But the more significant trend lies in increased MSTR investments, which Kendrick interprets as a workaround for regulatory restrictions that prevent direct Bitcoin holdings in certain jurisdictions.
Several sovereign entities and state funds increased their MSTR positions in Q1. Norway’s Government Pension Fund, the Swiss National Bank, and South Korea’s public investment bodies each added around 700 BTC-equivalent via MSTR. Additionally, state pension funds in California, New York, North Carolina, and Kentucky collectively invested in the equivalent of 1,000 BTC. Sweden and Liechtenstein made small increases, while France and Saudi Arabia took new but minor positions — signaling widening institutional interest.
Kendrick views the 13F filings as key evidence that institutional adoption is broadening as Bitcoin matures and volatility decreases. This supports his long-term price forecast of $500,000, as more portfolios reweight from underweight positions toward BTC’s “optimal” allocation. He stresses that institutional buying historically drives price increases.
Beyond Bitcoin, Kendrick has also made ambitious predictions for other cryptocurrencies. He expects Binance Coin (BNB) to hit $2,775 by 2028, Avalanche’s AVAX to reach $250 by 2029, and XRP to climb to $12.50 by 2028. Conversely, he has revised his Ethereum forecast downward to $4,000 by 2025. Additionally, he predicts the stablecoin market will grow dramatically to $2 trillion by the end of 2028.
Importantly, Kendrick noted that neither he nor Standard Chartered’s crypto research team holds any digital assets, emphasizing objectivity in their analysis. The trend of sovereigns increasing indirect BTC exposure via MSTR may play a pivotal role in accelerating institutional adoption and supporting aggressive price targets in the coming years.
Source: The Block