Short-bitcoin investment products see record inflows amid market slump, report shows

Investment products betting against bitcoin (BTC-USD) saw record inflows of $18M last week bringing total assets under management to an all-time high of $158M, according to a report by CoinShares on Tuesday. That comes as the price of bitcoin (BTC-USD) remains down over 70% from its November 2021 peak in the face of a broader risk-off tone in other asset classes as well as central bank tightening and growing recession fears. The token fell 3.9% to $18.96K at the time of writing. "This follows the recent FOMC meeting at Jackson Hole where a much more hawkish view was expressed, unexpected by some investors," CoinShares wrote. The most popular short-bitcoin fund is ProShares Short Bitcoin Strategy ETF (NYSEARCA:BITI), which tracks BTC's price through the use of BTC futures contracts, down 2.2% since debuting on June 22. By comparison, bitcoin (BTC-USD) slid 4.4% since then. Amid the lingering crypto bear market, assets under management in digital asset investment products saw AUM fall to $27.9B in the week ended September 2, their lowest level since the start of July. Still, those products experienced minor inflows of $9.2M, putting an end to a three-week streak of outflows, the report noted. Earlier, ethereum outpaces bitcoin as blockchain Merge nears, crypto stocks mixed.