INFLOWS into Bitcoin products and funds have hit a record US$6.4 billion so far this year, data from digital asset manager CoinShares showed, as investors bought the cryptocurrency on more widespread acceptance and positive momentum.

Bitcoin inflows totalled US$95 million last week, representing the largest inflows of all digital assets, while inflows during an eight-week bull run for the cryptocurrency were US$2.8 billion, the CoinShares data showed Monday.

Overall cryptocurrency products and funds posted inflows of US$174 million, CoinShares data as of Nov. 5 showed, in a 12th consecutive week of flows from institutional investors.

Bitcoin and ether made record peaks in Asia trade yesterday, with enthusiasm for cryptocurrency adoption and worry about inflation driving momentum and flows into the asset class.

Bitcoin rose as high as US$68,564 in Asian afternoon trade and ether, the second-biggest cryptocurrency by market value, earlier hit US$4,825.

Both have more than doubled since June and added nearly 70 percent against the U.S. dollar since the start of October.

“We’re getting the feeling that the market has shifted,” said Matthew Dibb, chief operating officer at Singapore-based crypto asset manager Stack Funds, pointing to a sharp pickup in demand from large investors and even pension funds.

“People are now figuring out that not having any exposure, even a small amount, is probably not a good thing moving forward, so they’re having to allocate at this price,” he said.

Market momentum has been gathering since last month’s launch of a futures-based Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the United States raised expectations of flow-driven gains.

Investors also poured US$31 million into Ethereum products and funds last week. Although Ethereum’s market share has declined in recent months as Bitcoin’s dominance has grown, a recent combination of positive price performance and strong inflow pushed its assets under management to a record US$20 billion.

Tron, a digital platform focused on hosting entertainment applications, had inflows of US$79 million over the last seven weeks, making it the eighth largest virtual asset in terms of assets under management.

Other pieces of positive news have also helped, including plans by Grayscale, the world’s largest digital currency manager, to convert its flagship Bitcoin trust into a spot-Bitcoin exchange traded fund. Last week Grayscale also applied to list a “future of finance” fund that would track companies involved in the growing digital economy.

“Crypto is where the fast money is at,” said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone. “[Ether] is trending like a dream and I’d be long and strong here,” he added.

(SD-Agencies)