Crypto investors diversify; non-bitcoin, ether funds see inflows

livemint.com:

Global crypto investors may aim to diversify portfolios to hedge against black swan events, following several high-profile crashes earlier this year, according to a report by digital asset data provider CryptoCompare.

Global crypto funds based on assets that come under the umbrella of ‘other’ (representing non-bitcoin and ethereum products) saw the largest asset under management (AUM) gains, rising 12.3% to $1.13 billion as of 23 August, data showed.

Multi-asset and other fund categories had positive net flows of $1.3 million and $0.8 million, respectively, during the first three weeks of August. The report also said that ethereum-based crypto funds led the bounce-back in July and continued to outperform in August. Assets for bitcoin-based products fell 7.16% to $17.4 billion during August while ethereum-based products saw gains of 2.36% to $6.81 billion.

“Even at a more granular level, no bitcoin products covered in the report saw AUM or volume gains in the month of August. We could be seeing interest move away from bitcoin in the short term, as ethereum-based products hold the attention with the much-anticipated ‘merge’ on the horizon,“ CryptoCompare said.

Ethereum is transitioning to proof-of-stake for its consensus protocol. Called the ‘merge’, the software upgrade has been in the works for years, and it will change the way ethereum orders transactions to become more energy efficient.

The reports highlighted that since the end of July 2022, the total AUM across all digital asset investment products have fallen 4 to $25.8 billion (as of 23 August).

In August, bitcoin’s AUM fell 7.16% to $17.4 billion, and as a result its market share fell to 67.6% of total AUM, down from 76.9% in July. Ethereum products now account