The biggest takeaways from ETH ETFs’ opening week in the US

Though Grayscale’s expensive product spoils the category’s net flow figures, four funds see sizable inflows in the first four trading days

article-image

JHVEPhoto/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Though investors exiting the Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) hurt the US spot ETH ETF market’s initial net flows figure, four of the funds saw solid traction.

The nine ETFs collectively posted net outflows of $342 million in their first four trading days (July 23-26), according to Farside Investors data.  

Sizable inflows into products by BlackRock, Bitwise and Fidelity could not make up for the $1.5 billion leaving higher-priced (2.5%) ETHE. Those outflows roughly match those endured by the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) during the product’s first four days as an ETF. 

Read more: Nomura’s crypto unit to offer yield-bearing ETH fund: Report

BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) notched $442 million of positive flows from Tuesday to Friday. The Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW) and the Fidelity (FETH) nabbed $266 million and $219 million, respectively.

CoinShares research head James Butterfill told Blockworks last week he does not believe the early outflows — driven by ETHE — should be viewed negatively.

“It likely represents a mix of clients taking profits for the first time in many years and switching to cheaper products,” he noted. “We expect the inflows from the newly issued ETFs to gradually surpass the outflows from the closed-end Grayscale fund.”

The spot ether ETFs are launching during the summer, when trading activity is historically lower. Still, the funds saw trading volumes of roughly $1.1 billion on their opening day Tuesday — about a quarter of the $4.6 billion in volumes spot BTC funds saw on their Jan. 11 debut.    

Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, noted the spot ETH ETFs’ $1.2 billion of net inflows when excluding ETHE — calling the fund category’s debut “highly successful” in an X post.

Loading Tweet..

Several segment observers have predicted the ETH ETFs will see about a third of the flows (more or less) of their BTC counterparts. 

The ether product flows are still in the red. But when looking just at the best inflow gatherer in both arenas (BlackRock), that estimate is slightly beat.

ETHA’s flow total in its first four days represented about 41% of the nearly $1.1 billion of inflows BlackRock’s spot BTC fund saw during its first four days on the market (Jan. 11-12, Jan. 16-17).

BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) is the largest BTC fund, managing $22.9 billion in assets as of July 26.

Grayscale “Mini” Trust capturing capital 

The fourth-best inflow gatherer was Grayscale (despite ETHE’s outflows), as the firm’s Ethereum Mini Trust reeled in $164 million.

That fund features the category’s cheapest price point (0.15%) and had a $1 billion liquidity head start by getting a portion of ETHE’s assets as seed capital. 

“BlackRock’s excellent distribution network and marketing power will ensure that ETHA will continue to remain ahead of its peers,” said Neena Mishra, director of ETF research at Zacks Investment Research. 

“However, I’d also be watching the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust, which should attract some younger investors with its ultra-low price handle and expense ratio,” Mishra added.


Start your day with top crypto insights from David Canellis and Katherine Ross. Subscribe to the Empire newsletter.

Explore the growing intersection between crypto, macroeconomics, policy and finance with Ben Strack, Casey Wagner and Felix Jauvin. Subscribe to the Forward Guidance newsletter.

Get alpha directly in your inbox with the 0xResearch newsletter — market highlights, charts, degen trade ideas, governance updates, and more.

The Lightspeed newsletter is all things Solana, in your inbox, every day. Subscribe to daily Solana news from Jack Kubinec and Jeff Albus.

Tags

Upcoming Events

Javits Center North | 445 11th Ave

Tues - Thurs, March 18 - 20, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

recent research

kamino cover.jpg

Research

Kamino has solidified its position as the leading money market on Solana and is emerging as a DeFi bluechip. Although DeFi competition is fierce, Kamino has kept iterating on its product to provide the best-in-class UX, paired with a robust risk management framework and battle-tested infrastructure. Given the rollout of Kamino Lend V2, the protocol may scale aggressively over the coming months, penetrating previously untapped markets in Solana DeFi.

article-image

Platforms like Polymarket and Drift’s BET show higher probabilities for a Trump victory, reflecting current market sentiments

article-image

While DAOs promote transparency and community involvement, underlying centralized mechanisms reveal the challenges in achieving full decentralization

article-image

Also in the tokenized fund space, Franklin Templeton launches on Base and Securitize hits $1 billion in tokenized RWA onchain

article-image

It turns out that bitcoin never actually hit an all-time high in March. Thanks a lot, inflation.

article-image

Spire, Citrea and Nillion also announced raises this week

article-image

The latest recipient of an SEC Wells notice is a Web3 gaming company