Wall Street investment bank JPMorgan (JPM) said the pace of capital inflows into digital assets slowed significantly in the first quarter of 2026, with total inflows estimated at around $11 billion.
That implies an annual run rate of about $44 billion, about a third of the pace seen in 2025, according to the report published last week.
“Investor flows, either retail or institutional, have been small or even negative YTD, with the majority of digital asset flow in Q1’26 coming from the Strategy’s (MSTR) bitcoin purchase and concentrated crypto VC funding,” wrote analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou.
Crypto markets had a volatile and largely negative first quarter, with prices and market capitalization retreating sharply against a risk-off backdrop. The total crypto market value fell about 20% during the period, while bitcoin fell about 23% and ether (ETH) fell more than 30%, marking one of the weakest first-quarter results this year.
The selloff was driven by macroeconomic and geopolitical pressures that triggered liquidations and a broad retreat in risk assets, with altcoins hit even harder.
Despite the downturn, prices stabilized towards the end of the quarter, with bitcoin consolidating near the $70,000 level as ETF demand improved and some pockets of the market, such as select altcoins and onchain activity, showed resilience.
The bank’s estimate brings together crypto fund flows, Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures positioning, venture capital fundraising and corporate treasury activity, including bitcoin purchase of companies such as Strategy.
The analysts said investor-driven flows were particularly weak. Positioning in bitcoin and ether CME futures softened over 2024 and 2025, suggesting institutional demand may have turned slightly negative year-to-date. Spot bitcoin and ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) also saw net outflows during the quarter, concentrated in January, before a modest rebound in bitcoin ETF inflows in March.
The bank’s analysts attributed most of the quarter’s inflows to corporate treasury activity and venture financing. The strategy remained a dominant buyer, funding bitcoin purchases mainly through equity issuance, while signaling continued reliance on equity and preferred issuance to fund accumulation. Other business owners were more defensive, with some selling bitcoin to fund buybacks.
Bitcoin miners were net sellers during the quarter, the report said, as firms sold holdings or used them as collateral to build liquidity, finance capital expenditures or manage liabilities. The analysts characterized the sale as driven by tighter financing conditions and balance sheet discipline rather than distress.
Crypto venture capital was a relative bright spot. Funding followed an annualized pace over the previous two years, although activity was increasingly concentrated in fewer, larger deals led by established firms. Capital continued to rotate towards infrastructure, stablecoins, payments and tokenization, with less interest in gaming, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and exchange-related projects, the report added.
Read more: Bitcoin Holds Ground as Gold, Silver Slips on ETF Outflows and Liquidity Strains: JPMorgan
