The number of crypto asset ETPs increased by 50%, from 109 to 162, in 2022, even as cryptocurrency market values crashed by 64% over the same period, according to analysis from Fineqia International.

Bundeep Singh Rangar, CEO of Fineqia International

Canada-headquartered Fineqia harnessed a diverse range of public ETF and ETP AUM sources for its research including from 21Shares, Grayscale Investment, VanEck, Morningstar, and TrackInSight.

The firm found that, despite strong product development, total AUM within crypto-linked ETPs globally declined to a third of their value, from $58.5 billion to $20.0bn, in 2022, mirroring the broad sell-off in the digital asset space over the year.

Commenting on the findings, Bundeep Singh Rangar, CEO of Fineqia International, said: “The fact that an average of one new ETP was issued each week, despite the bear market in 2022, can be seen as an indication of continued investor appetite for this asset class. Specific events, such as the bankruptcy of FTX, contributed to a fall in crypto prices and resultant AUMs.”

ETPs tracking the performance of bitcoin and ether, by far the two largest crypto assets, accounted for the vast majority of crypto ETP AUM with $13.5bn and $5.0bn in assets, respectively, at the end of 2022. The price of bitcoin dropped by 65% over the year while ether slumped by 68%.

The largest bitcoin-tracking ETF – the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO US) – which launched around the time of BTC’s all-time high of more than $65,000 in November 2021 and quickly gained more than $1.2bn in assets just days after its introduction, has seen its AUM drop by more than 50% to $549 million, as of the end of 2022.