JPMorgan has observed a sharp decline in capital inflows into crypto assets in the first quarter of 2026, contrary to earlier growth expectations. This was reported by The Block.
According to estimates by the bank’s analysts, led by Managing Director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, total flows into digital assets over the three-month period amounted to approximately $11 billion. This is about three times less than the figure for the same period last year.
If the current trend continues, the inflows for the full 12 months will amount to around $44 billion, significantly lower than the ~$130 billion in 2025.
Shift in Demand Structure and Miner Pressure
The main volume of inflow in the first quarter was driven by corporate purchases of bitcoin and venture investments.
Meanwhile, activity in the DAT segment was mixed. While a small group of players led by Strategy continued to increase positions, some smaller companies sold their assets to meet obligations and buy back shares.
Analysts noted that the market is increasingly dependent on a limited number of large participants, rather than broad demand from institutional and retail investors.
Additional signs of cooling during the first quarter included:
- outflows from spot ETFs based on bitcoin and Ethereum;
- reduced positions in CME futures;
- institutional demand turning negative.
However, analysts noted a partial recovery of inflows into exchange-traded BTC funds in March.
A significant factor pressuring capital inflows into cryptocurrencies was that mining companies were net sellers of bitcoin in the first quarter. JPMorgan explained this by the tightening of financing conditions for cryptocurrency miners and the need to maintain liquidity. In some cases, asset sales were related to diversification costs into AI services.
The volume of venture financing in the first quarter remained high, with growth rates surpassing those of the previous two years. However, the number of deals and participants decreased, with investor interest focusing on fewer large rounds, bank specialists noted.
In March, retail bitcoin investor activity dropped to its lowest since 2017, reported an analyst under the pseudonym Darkfost.