CCData’s Digital Asset Management Review for May found that Bitcoin, with its finite supply and resistance to governmental control, continues to solidify its position as a compelling asset class for institutional investors.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-authorized benchmark administrator’s report provides real-time and historical data on digital assets for both institutional and retail investors.
Bitcoin, Ethereum battered but resilient
Bitcoin and Ethereum-based products experienced their first dip of the year, with declines of 10.3% and 4.42%, reducing their total AUM to $21.7 billion and $7.50 billion, respectively. Consequently, Bitcoin’s market share fell slightly to 70.9%, while Ethereum’s rose to 24.5%.
Further, despite an overall contraction for the first time in 2023, digital asset management firms have seen a robust increase in their year-to-date (YTD) assets under management (AUM). Standouts include CI Galaxy, ProShares, and ETC Group, all of which posted significant growth in their AUMs.
May saw a downward trend in the average daily aggregate volumes of digital asset investment products, marking a second consecutive monthly drop. However, resilience is evident as the total AUM for digital asset investment products, despite falling by 8.92% to $30.6 billion in May, still represents a 55.5% YTD increase.
Broader markets and trust products
As the broader digital asset market navigated through a downturn in May, all categories of digital asset investment products, namely ETCs, trust products, ETFs, and ETNs experienced declines. Notably, trust products, dominated by Grayscale, saw an 8.61% decrease, totaling $23.9 billion.
Average daily aggregate volumes for digital asset investment products in May dropped 24.6% to $209 million, the second-lowest record for 2023. The average daily volumes for ETNs and ETFs fell 15.9% to $172 million, with Bitcoin-based products accounting for the majority.
May was also a significant month for VanEck and CI Galaxy, with the former seeing a 2.25% increase in AUM to $334 million and the latter a decrease of 3.45% to $523 million. Dominant market player Grayscale, despite an 8.66% decrease in AUM from April to May, maintained a stronghold with a total AUM of $23.0 billion, reflecting a notable 57.6% YTD increase.
Despite May’s dip, YTD figures underscore a significant increase in AUM for digital asset management companies. CI Galaxy emerged as the frontrunner, boasting a 118% YTD increase in AUM. ProShares and ETC Group followed, posting 80.1% and 71.5% YTD increases, respectively.
On the trust product front, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) and Ethereum Trust (ETHE) continued to lead despite AUM decreases of 9.93% and 4.67%, totaling $16.8 billion and $5.52 billion, respectively. Among ETN/ETF products, ProShares BITO maintained the pole position, while in the ETC space, XBT Provider by CoinShares held the majority of AUM across all ETCs.
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