Ethereum ETFs are riding a wave of post-election momentum, reversing a tide of billions of dollars in outflows that had dampened investor enthusiasm when launched this summer.
Cumulative net inflows for spot Ethereum ETFs flipped positive Tuesday, hitting $94 million, according to SoSo Value data. Representing the total amount of money that nine investment products for Ethereum have taken in so far, the figure had climbed to $238 million on Thursday.
When spot Ethereum ETFs debuted in July, the initial picture was ugly. The Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE) saw $1.7 billion worth of outflows in its first five trading days, bleeding cash as the price of Ethereum dropped as low as $3,400, according to SoSo Value data.
Analysts attributed ETHE’s sizable streak of outflows to the product’s relatively high expense ratio, making it more costly to hold than alternatives. Not long after, the crypto market dipped amid macro jitters and an unwinding yen “carry trade” that caught global markets off guard.
“The launch of the spot Ethereum ETFs came at an awkward time,” Matt Mena, a research analyst at 21Shares, told Decrypt. “But now the optimism has come back in full force.”
While investors pulled $3.2 million from spot Ethereum ETFs on Thursday, the previous six days represented a record-setting span. Ramping up on Election Day, investors allocated $796 million to the products, notching their longest and largest stretch of inflows on record.
Investors appear to be more comfortable with Ethereum following Donald Trump’s White House victory, Mena said, pointing to hopes of a pro-crypto administration under the president-elect. At the same time, he said crypto-friendly members of Congress should “also encourage more builders to develop applications on top of the Ethereum network” amid a new tone on Capitol Hill.
“As the U.S. ushers in a more favorable regulatory administration, TradFi institutions and retail crypto traders alike feel more secure about the promise and resilience of digital assets,” Plume CEO Chris Yin told Decrypt. “We are beginning to see overdue excitement.”
Expectations of favorable crypto policy and regulation are driving excitement around Ethereum, according to FalconX Head of Research David Lawant. For example, he told Decrypt a regulatory framework for stablecoins would validate one of Ethereum’s use cases.
With spot Bitcoin ETFs seeing billions of dollars of inflows since Trump’s win, however, he told Decrypt that the recent wave of inflows for Ethereum ETFs is also likely part of a spillover effect among institutional and retail investors.
“There’s going to be people who will start looking around and seeing what is out there in this industry besides just Bitcoin,” Lawant said. “And the first thing that we’ll probably bump into is Ethereum, the only other crypto asset that has a spot ETF approved right now.”
Lawant added that there’s a degree of reflexivity likely impacting flows. As Ethereum’s price rises, investors are more likely to pay attention to the ETFs and potentially allocate to them, he said.
On Election Day, the price of Ethereum clocked in around $2,400. While its price had jumped 41% to $3,400 by Tuesday, it’s since retraced back down to around $3,100.
Overall, ETHE outflows have overshadowed the launch of spot Ethereum ETFs, but their launch has been pretty successful when looking past that one fund, Lawant said. BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has pulled in $1.7 billion just on its own, while seven others have collectively attracted $1.8 billion.
“It’s important to keep in mind that $3.5 billion dollars for ETFs that launched less than four months ago is not a bad number at all,” he said.
Edited by Andrew Hayward
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