Capital flowing into the digital asset market totalled about $11 billion in the first quarter, sharply slowing from last year, according to estimates.

CoinDesk reported on April 8 that global investment bank JPMorgan put the pace at about $44 billion on an annualised basis, only about one third of 2025.

The key is the nature of the inflows. JPMorgan analysed that most first-quarter flows came from Strategy’s bitcoin purchases and some concentrated crypto venture investment. A research team led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said, “Since the start of the year, retail and institutional investor flows were small or even negative, and most digital asset flows in the first quarter of 2026 came from Strategy’s bitcoin purchases and concentrated crypto venture funding.”

The broader market trend was also weak. Cryptocurrency market capitalisation fell about 20 percent in the first quarter, with bitcoin down about 23 percent and ether down more than 30 percent. JPMorgan said liquidations increased as macroeconomic and geopolitical factors drove greater risk-asset aversion, and altcoins were hit harder.

Prices stabilised somewhat toward the end of the quarter. Bitcoin moved sideways around $70,000, and demand for spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds also showed signs of improvement. Some of the market showed relatively resilient performance in selective altcoins and on-chain activity.

JPMorgan’s estimates combine crypto fund flows, Chicago Mercantile Exchange futures positioning, venture capital fundraising and corporate treasury activity. That includes bitcoin purchases by companies such as Strategy. Investor-led demand, by contrast, was notably weak. CME futures positioning in bitcoin and ether weakened from 2024 and 2025, and it was raised as a possibility that institutional demand has turned slightly negative since the start of the year.

Spot ETFs also recorded net outflows over the full first quarter. The net outflows were concentrated in January, and in March there was a limited rebound in inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs. That is read as meaning ETFs did not sufficiently serve as a buffer for the market during the price downturn.

Companies’ moves were mixed. Strategy raised funds for bitcoin purchases through share issuance and remained the dominant buyer. The company signalled it would continue accumulating bitcoin by relying on issuing common and preferred shares. Other corporate holders, however, moved more defensively, and some sold bitcoin to raise funds for share buybacks.

Bitcoin miners were net sellers in the first quarter. JPMorgan said it saw them selling holdings or using them as collateral to boost liquidity, fund capital expenditure or manage debt. The research team said such selling was due to tighter financing conditions and balance-sheet management rather than a sign of distress.

Venture investment showed a relatively better trend. On an annualised basis, the investment pace was higher than in the past 2 years, but deals became increasingly concentrated in a smaller number of large transactions. Funds shifted to infrastructure, stablecoins, payments and tokenisation, while interest declined in gaming, non-fungible tokens and exchange-related projects.

In the end, the first-quarter digital asset market can be summed up as inflows being supported by Strategy’s aggressive bitcoin buying and some venture investment, as overall investor risk appetite weakened. If this trend continues, whether market funding recovers will depend on a rebound in ETF demand, a recovery in institutional positioning and the durability of corporate treasury buying.