Approximately twelve months ago, the US financial market was introduced to spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs). These products have provided a regulatory compliant avenue for investors to gain exposure to the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, without directly owning it.
Over the past year, the journey of spot Ethereum ETFs has been filled with dramatic ups and downs, from sluggish beginnings with minimal investment influx to periods of outflows and finally, massive positive monetary inflows. Despite their fluctuating performance, these products have significantly contributed to institutional adoption of cryptocurrencies.
As reported by CryptoPotato at the time of their launch, the collective nine products accrued a positive flow of $106 million on the first day. Influential outflows from Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust (ETHE) totaling over $484 million significantly impacted these inflows.
At the forefront was BlackRock’s spot Ethereum ETF (ETHA) which recorded an inflow of $266 million on the first day and continues to lead the pack. Bitwise’s ETHW and Fidelity’s FETH followed with inflows of $204 million and $71 million respectively. Other funds from asset management firms like 21Shares, Invesco, VanEck, and Franklin Templeton saw inflows between $13 million and $7.5 million.
Comparing the most recent trading day with the debut of these funds, the progress made by these funds is substantial. As of Friday, July 18, the ETFs collectively pulled in over $402 million in inflows. Interestingly, this is not the highest recorded inflow for these products.
The spot Ethereum ETFs amassed their highest ever inflow of over $726 million on July 16, according to data from CoinGlass. The very next day, they recorded their second-largest daily inflow of $602 million. Since July 5, these funds have maintained a consistent inflow streak for 11 days, accumulating over $2.8 billion.
BlackRock continues to dominate with total assets under management (AUM) standing at $7.92 billion. ETHE follows closely with an AUM of $3.46 billion.
However, the journey for these ETFs hasn’t been smooth sailing, especially considering Ethereum’s subpar performance in this cycle. Despite a strong start, the following trading days saw worrying outflows with investors purchasing less ETH than anticipated.
While Grayscale’s Trust continued to experience outflows, other products struggled to compete. This trend persisted until mid-November when the funds began an 18-day streak of positive inflows, which was later surpassed by a 19-day streak ending on June 12.
With investors continuing to show strong interest in ETH, it’s anyone’s guess what the next year holds for spot Ethereum ETFs.
