The year 2024 began with a strong start in the crypto market, with investments reaching $151 million in the first week. Despite Solana‘s impressive performance in 2023, it did not contribute significantly to the inflows, recording $5.3 million in outflows according to a CoinShares report. Solana’s price fluctuated, surpassing $100 but then dropping below $90 in the first week of January, experiencing a 10.12% decrease over seven days.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, attracted considerable optimism, with inflows totaling $113 million out of the $151 million. Expectations for the approval of a spot ETF in the US were cited as a major driver of these inflows, with 55% originating from US exchanges, while Germany and Switzerland accounted for 21% and 17%, respectively.
Reports suggest that the approval process for ETFs is nearing completion, supported by a post from SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, which led to speculation about greenlighting applications. However, CoinShares’ details revealed a lack of consensus on this optimism, noting that if many believed in the launch of a US ETF as a “buy the rumor, sell the news” event, there would have been entries into short Bitcoin ETPs, which was not the case.
Sentiment towards Solana is changing, with its weighted sentiment metric climbing into positive territory, indicating a recovery driven by a higher volume of positive comments about the project. If this sentiment persists, inflows into Solana-related funds could increase. However, Solana may face challenges from Ethereum, which saw $29 million in investment product inflows.