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
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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.
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.
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