Institutional Investors Are Avoiding Bitcoin, Preferring Solana

Recently, noteworthy developments have been occurring in the cryptocurrency markets. Bitcoin (BTC) investment products experienced a total outflow of 360 million dollars following U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's statement in December that a new interest rate cut was not certain. According to CoinShares' weekly report, this outflow was driven by U.S.-based investors, and digital asset funds showed weak performance again in the last week.

Investors interpreted Jerome Powell's cautious statements about interest rate cuts as a hawkish stance, leading to renewed uncertainty in the markets. This situation overshadowed the positive effects of last week's interest rate cut. Looking at the regional distribution, the U.S. stood out with an outflow of 439 million dollars, while Germany and Switzerland contributed with limited inflows of 32 million and 30.8 million dollars, respectively, partially balancing the scenario.

The most noteworthy data of the week was the outflow of 946 million dollars from Bitcoin investment products. CoinShares analyst James Butterfill noted that Bitcoin is the asset most sensitive to monetary policy developments and pointed out that serious pressure was exerted on prices following Powell's statements.

Despite the negative outlook, strong inflows were observed on the Solana (SOL) front. With the introduction of new ETF products in the U.S., inflows of 421 million dollars were recorded, marking the second highest weekly inflow in Solana's history. Solana's total inflows since the beginning of the year have reached 3.3 billion dollars.

On the Ethereum (ETH) side, a limited inflow was also recorded. The report states that, in addition to an inflow of 57.6 million dollars, daily data shows that investors are adopting a indecisive stance regarding Ethereum. In this situation, institutional investors' preferences seem to be clearly leaning towards Solana.

Key points for investors to watch include the Fed's future interest rate policies, market uncertainties, and continuing strong inflows for Solana. Particularly, the momentum gained by Solana may create new opportunities for investors.