Crypto Surges Past AI Stocks as Institutional Money Flows In
Recent market trends reveal that crypto is outperforming AI stocks, with Bitcoin and Ethereum leading the charge. According to recent data, BTC rose by 31.60% in the last 50 days, while ETH surged by a significant 53.50%. In contrast, the S&P 500 gained only 2.26%, and the Nasdaq barely moved at 0.22%. Gold and silver also experienced solid runs, up 14.31% and 19.26%, respectively.
The influx of institutional money into crypto has been a major driving force behind this trend. US spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in about $1.6 billion between August 17 and August 20, marking the strongest weekly inflow of 2026 so far. Spot Ether ETFs recorded approximately $221 million on August 20, their fourth straight day of inflows.
The divergence in performance highlights that crypto is beating stocks, but it doesn't necessarily indicate a direct shift from one asset class to another. In fact, investors could be holding both Nvidia and Bitcoin at the same time. The recent run has been driven by stronger ETF demand and better liquidity, which contrasts with the pressure on tech stocks due to higher Treasury yields.