Key Takeaways
- Spot ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted $107.8 million in total inflows on their first day of trading Tuesday.
- Blackrock’s iShares Ethereum Trust had the most successful launch, at $266.5 million of inflows, following by Bitwise Ethereum ETF at $204 million.
- Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust experienced massive outflows of $484.1 million.
- Grayscale outflows could drag down spot ether ETF inflows and ether prices in the near term.
- Ether was down 1.3% in early trading Wednesday but recovered by early afternoon in the U.S.
Spot ether ETFs garnered $107.8 million in total inflows and exceeded a $1 billion in trading volume on their debut trading day.
Among the nine ETFs that began trading Tuesday, BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) was the top performer in terms of inflows, with $266.5 million, according to data analyzed by Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart. The Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW) fared second best with $204 million in inflows. No other product among the new spot ether ETFs cracked $100 million of inflows.
Grayscale Reports Big Outflows
Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), which converted from an existing fund into an ETF Tuesday, had investors pull out a net $484.1 million, even though it remains the largest ether ETF by assets. These outflows were likely driven by higher fees at Grayscale Ethereum Trust and weren’t unexpected.
The outflows from Grayscale’s ETHE are similar to, although more pronounced, than what happened with the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) once spot bitcoin ETFs began trading in January. Some analysts expect investors pulling money from the new ETHE fund to drag on ether prices (ETH) over the short term.
For comparison, the spot bitcoin ETF market posted $655.3 million of inflows on its first day of trading, according to Farside Investors. Despite the positive inflows for the spot ether ETFs Tuesday, the price of ether was down 1.3% in early trading Wednesday. By about 1 p.m. ET, it had recovered to be off just 0.08%.