Crypto ETFs: a modest 1% of the market
2 min read
- Bitcoin
This week, CoinShares sat down with Eric Balchunas, author and senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, to reverse the roles and ask him the questions. We explored his take on the digital assets industry and the rapid growth of crypto investment products, particularly in the U.S.
Without giving too much away (you’ll have to stay tuned for the full conversation in the coming weeks), the discussion offered a valuable chance to step back and reflect. Once again, it became clear that the phrase “we are still early” is not a vague and empty motto, it’s grounded in reality.
As Eric reminded us, ETFs are still a relatively young innovation, introduced only about 30 years ago. As he details in his book The Bogle Effect, they’ve revolutionized investing by slashing fees and disrupting entrenched asset managers. Since 2008, ETFs have grown at a 19.8% CAGR, according to Morningstar’s long-term fund flows data*, reaching over $10 trillion in assets under management.
A drop in an ocean
Yet for all that, ETFs still account for less than 12% of global investable assets, based on estimates from Morningstar and Bloomberg Intelligence. And crypto ETFs? Just 1% of the global ETF market share: a drop in an ocean.
And that ocean is swelling. This comes at a time when M2 money supply is rising not only in the U.S. and Europe but also in China, where it grew by 8.3% year-on-year as of April 2025, according to the People’s Bank of China (PBoC). It’s a reminder that global liquidity is surging. While this trend has complex implications, one clear outcome is a growing hunt for yield and innovation in asset allocation.
Some analyses have suggested that Bitcoin has, at times, shown correlation with global liquidity trends****. Today, that liquidity exceeds $104 trillion, the highest level on record, according to CrossBorder Capital’s Global Liquidity Index, and likely not the peak. And Bitcoin, often referred to as digital gold, purchased faster than it is mined, may be viewed as a potential beneficiary of expanding global liquidity.
In that light, crypto ETFs, still in their infancy, could benefit from both structural adoption and macro-driven capital flows.
*: Morningstar Research, “Global Fund Flows Report”, 2024
**: Bloomberg Intelligence & Morningstar data as cited by Eric Balchunas
***: People’s Bank of China (PBoC), April 2025 M2 Money Supply report
****: Fidelity Digital Assets, “Bitcoin and Global Liquidity: A High Correlation?”, 2023
*****: CrossBorder Capital, “Global Liquidity Index”, Q2 2025 update
