Crypto ETFs (exchange-traded funds) pulled in $572 million last week as US President Donald Trump opened the $8.7 trillion 401(k) pension market to digital assets, sending Ethereum on a tear.
“Early in the week, outflows reached $1 billion, which we believe were driven by growth concerns stemming from weak US payroll figures,” James Butterfill, Head of Research at CoinShares, wrote in a Monday report.
“In the latter half of the week, however, we saw $1.57 billion of inflows, likely spurred by the government’s announcement permitting digital assets in 401(k) retirement plans,” he added.

Ethereum-based products attracted $268 million in inflows, the highest amount of any asset, as the altcoin leader broke above $4K for the first time in eight months. These latest flows pushed the products’ year-to-date inflows to a new record of $8.2 billion as well.
Those recent price gains have also pushed the total assets under management for ETH funds to an all-time high of $32.6 billion, marking an 82% increase so far this year.
The ETH price has soared almost 17% in the past week and 45% in a month to hit $2,474 as of 10:25 a.m. EST.
Bitcoin products managed to rebound from 2 consecutive weeks of outflows last week as well. Investors added $260 million to the BTC products, helping the largest crypto by market cap break above the psychological $120K mark, data from CoinMarketCap shows.
Meanwhile, investors pulled out $4 million from short Bitcoin products during the same period.
Investment products in the US and Canada recorded the highest inflows. Investors added $608 million to the US products, while products in Canada saw inflows of $16.5 million.
Meanwhile, Europe remained bearish, with Germany, Sweden and Switzerland products suffering combined outflows of $54.3 million.
The soaring prices and inflows came the same week that US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to allow American 401(k) pension funds, an $8.7 trillion market, to invest in crypto and other alternative assets.
The order instructs the Labor Department and other federal agencies to redefine what would be considered a qualified asset under 401(k) rules.
The White House expects the rules to be implemented in the next few months.

