Crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) saw their largest weekly inflows in more than a year, according to an Oct. 30 report from asset management platform CoinShares. Inflows were $326 million for the week ending Oct. 27, dwarfing the $66 million recorded over the previous week.
Digital asset investment products saw inflows of US$326m, the largest single week of inflows since July 2022!
These numbers are due to what we believe was rising optimism from investors that the US SEC is poised to approve a spot-based Bitcoin ETF in the US.
ETPs are investment funds whose notes or shares are designed to track the price of a particular asset. In the case of crypto ETPs, they usually track the price of large market-cap cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH). Some investors prefer to get exposure to crypto prices through funds rather than holding these assets themselves, as shares of these funds can be held in a traditional brokerage account.
An ETP “inflow” occurs when the fund’s price rises faster than its underlying asset, which causes the fund to buy the asset. This is generally seen as bullish for the underlying asset. By contrast, an “outflow” occurs when the fund has to sell the asset because the prices of their notes or shares are declining relative to their target, which is usually seen as bearish.
According to CoinShares’ report, weekly inflows for the week ending Oct. 27 were $326 million. This was the highest since July 2022, 15 months ago. It was also the fifth straight week of ETP inflows.
Weekly crypto fund flows in 2023 as of Oct. 27. Source: CoinShares
According to CoinShares, one possible explanation for the sudden rise in inflows could be “rising optimism from investors that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is poised to approve a spot-based Bitcoin ETF in the U.S.,” which could anticipate that there will be inflows to U.S.-based funds after approval.
Despite the sharp increase in inflows, this week represented only the 21st largest increase ever recorded, CoinShares said. The largest weekly inflows last week went into Bitcoin ETPs, which represented 90% of the total. Solana’s SOL (SOL) also benefited from the optimistic spirit pervading the market, as it saw $24 million in inflows. However, Ether funds went in the opposite direction, suffering $6 million worth of outflows.
Despite multiple applications being filed over the years, the SEC has yet to approve a spot Bitcoin ETP. Van Eck amended its application on Oct. 19, presumably to comply with the agency’s concerns. Hashdex also met with the SEC on Oct. 25 in an effort to get their spot Bitcoin ETP approved.
Hong Kong’s Cyberport, a government-backed business hub focused on Web3, blockchain and artificial intelligence, is ramping up its investment in emerging technologies to position the city as a global tech leader.
On Feb. 27, Cyberport hosted the “AI Safety, Trust, and Responsibility” forum with international AI academic institutions to discuss AI governance, safety and responsible innovation initiatives.
Hong Kong Cyberport hosts AI summit. Source: Cyberport
A day prior, on Feb. 26, the Hong Kong government’s 2025–26 budget paid special attention to emerging technologies, aiming to “seize the critical opportunities presented by technological reform and artificial intelligence development.”
Hong Kong invests heavily in Web3 and AI via the Cyberport hub
The Chinese Special Administrative Region allocated 1 billion Hong Kong dollars ($125.5 million) to establish the Hong Kong AI Research and Development Institute, Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po announced during the Hing Kong budget speech.
The institute is dedicated to “facilitating upstream R&D, transforming midstream and downstream R&D outcomes, and expanding application scenarios.”
To fuel the Web3, blockchain and AI innovation, Cyberport’s Artificial Intelligence Supercomputing Centre (AISC), which launched on Dec. 9, 2024, will grow to a computing power of 3,000 petaFLOPS and will be able to process 3,000 quadrillion floating-point operations per second.
Streamlining AI research and talent development
Additionally, one of the co-organizers of the AI forum, the World Digital Technology Academy (WDTA), also announced the establishment of the “WDTA Asia-Pacific Institute (preparatory)” at Cyberport.
Yale Li, the executive chairman of WDTA, highlighted the institute’s three core initiatives. These include building a “safety-native” technological framework, establishing a “human-oriented” value system and commitment to “responsible innovation.”
Cyberport has signed numerous Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with universities and institutions to help students with internship and employment opportunities. Lastly, the Hong Kong government allocated $3 billion Hong Kong dollars ($385.6 million) to Cyberport for the launch of a three-year AI Subsidy Scheme to support the innovations.