One Year Later: Ether ETFs Surge as Institutional Demand Bolsters Ether
Anniversary alert: Ether ETFs launched in the US one year ago today. While these products initially struggled for consistent inflows, the past month has represented a dramatic shift.
Record Inflows Ignite Market
Farside Investors data reveals Ether funds have attracted record net capital flows, totaling $3.6 billion from July 1 to July 22. Ethan Yu’s analysis noting the segment’s weekly inflows of nearly $2.1 billion are more than double its previous record of $1.2 billion. These past 13 weeks of inflows represent 23% of the Ether products’ Assets Under Management (AUM).
Institutional Gravity Shifts
Institutional demand has driven the latest surge rather than just speculative activity. Blockworks Research indicates corporate treasuries have added over 600,000 Ether to their balance sheets alone this month.
“ETH’s combination of scarcity, deflation and yield makes it an ideal asset for a treasury strategy,” Globe 3 Capital’s Matt Lason explained.
Recent notable movers highlight this trend:
- SharpLink Gaming increased its holdings by ~360,800 ETH since May (%29% increase in one week).
- Bitwise noted BitMine’s ~$1 billion Ether stake and goal to acquire and stake 5% of overall ETH supply.
In total, ETFs and public companies have purchased approximately 2.83 million ETH (worth ~$10 billion) since mid-May—a 32x increase.
This institutional appetite has directly fueled a 60% price surge in Ether over the past month.
SEC Scrutiny, Future ETFs on Horizon
The discussion around staking appears inevitable. Asset managers, including BlackRock’s recent filing, have sought SEC approval to deploy underlying Ether holdings toward staking activities. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has acknowledged the need for patience regarding modifications like staking, but observers anticipate approvals soon.
This momentum extends to other crypto products. Notably, the SEC approved Bitwise’s crypto index fund proposal but stayed the order, suggesting the regulator prefers establishing a comprehensive framework before converting non-ETF ETPs to ETFs. Separately, 21Shares filed for an Ondo ETF, continuing the flow of filings following the June Grayscale rejection.
The Big Picture: Ether’s ETF Journey
Despite Ether ETFs now commanding roughly 20% of the market’s capital (compared to Bitcoin’s ~15% overall crypto market cap), they only manage ~12% of the assets of their Bitcoin counterparts. “With all the excitement surrounding stablecoins and tokenization—which are built on Ethereum—we think that will change,” Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan observed.
