🚀 Bitcoin & Ethereum Fuel $1.57B Rally as U.S. Unlocks Crypto for 401(k) Plans

Wall Street meets blockchain—finally. The U.S. just handed retirement accounts a shiny new toy: Bitcoin and Ethereum. Cue the frenzy.

The domino effect: Institutional money floods in, prices spike, and your uncle starts bragging about his 'diamond hands' at Thanksgiving.

Behind the numbers: That $1.57 billion surge? Just the opening act. Traders are already betting this cracks the door for more crypto adoption—or at least juicier management fees.

The kicker: Sure, your 401(k) can now moon... or crash harder than a Lehman Bros. happy hour. Welcome to the future of retirement—volatility included.

Key Takeaways

Digital asset investment products saw a $572M rebound last week, driven by Bitcoin, Ether gains, and U.S approval of crypto in 401(k) plans. Altcoins also attracted notable inflows, despite the overall summer trading slowdown.

After a sluggish mid-year performance, the digital asset investment market made a striking comeback last week. It drew in $572 million in new investments, according to CoinShares data.

CoinShares’ Head of Research weighs in

The turnaround came after a pretty turbulent period of outflows, with $1 billion exiting the market earlier in the week. In fact, CoinShares’ Head of Research James Butterfill linked this liquidity exodus to the disappointing U.S payroll figures that stirred economic jitters previously.

However, this momentum shifted dramatically as Bitcoin [BTC] and ethereum [ETH] prices climbed, with ETH touching $4,000 for the first time since December 2024.

The real catalyst came mid-week when news broke that U.S regulators WOULD allow digital assets in 401(k) retirement plans, triggering a wave of $1.57 billion in inflows over just a few days.

Interestingly, the rebound came despite a noticeable slowdown in trading activity during the summer. For example – Data from CoinShares showed that crypto exchange-traded product (ETP) volumes fell 23% from the previous month.

Looking at the inflows data, it can be seen that the United States has remained the dominant driver of inflows, securing $608 million. On the contrary, Canada saw more modest gains of $16.5 million.

On the other side of the Atlantic, European markets stayed cautious, with Germany, Sweden, and Switzerland collectively seeing $54.3 million in outflows.

What triggered this surge?

According to Butterfill, the sudden uptick in capital towards the end of the week may have been driven by a significant U.S. policy change – Permitting digital assets in 401(k) retirement plans.

This announcement, made last Thursday, prompted a wave of investor enthusiasm. It resulted in $1.57 billion in inflows during the latter half of the week.

Among the many digital assets, ETH stood out as the outperformer, maintaining the momentum it built in July. Ether-linked ETPs drew the largest inflows across the market, bringing in nearly $270 million. This underscored the crypto’s strong appeal to institutional investors.

 Butterfill added, 

“This pushed year-to-date inflows to a new record of $8.2 billion, while recent price gains have driven total assets under management to an all-time high of $32.6 billion, up 82% so far this year.”

Winners and losers

ProShares ETFs in the United States topped the weekly inflow charts, attracting $35 million, while CoinShares XBT Provider AB saw $16 million exit. In doing so, the latter extended its total withdrawals for the year to $414 million.

Smaller issuers in the “Other” category stood out, bringing in an impressive $151 million.

Altcoins also saw some action though. solana [SOL] products welcomed $21.8 million, XRP secured $18.4 million, and NEAR saw $10.1 million in fresh capital.

All in all, these trends collectively point to persistent investor interest in layer-1 ecosystems and cross-border payment plays, despite muted overall trading volumes.