Ether ETFs Attract $106 Million Inflows on Inaugural Trading Day

Nine ether ETFs commenced trading on U.S. exchanges with net inflows amounting to $106 million. BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust ETF led with $266.5 million in inflows. Meanwhile, Grayscale Ethereum Trust saw significant outflows of $484 million as investors switched to other lower-cost options.

The nine exchange-traded funds (ETFs) linked to the spot price of ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, drew net inflows of $106 million as they began trading on U.S. stock exchanges, according to CF Benchmarks and multiple trading firms.

The lion's share of those assets was amassed by the same sponsors who emerged victorious with the January debut of spot bitcoin ETFs, noted CF Benchmarks, a digital asset index provider. Leading the inflow tally was BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust ETF, which garnered $266.5 million, followed closely by the Bitwise Ethereum ETF with inflows of $204 million. The Fidelity Ethereum Fund secured $71 million in assets.

Converting from a publicly traded trust, the Grayscale Ethereum Trust, rebranded as an ETF, launched on Tuesday with over $9 billion in assets but faced outflows of $484 million. This figure surpasses the first-day outflows of $95.1 million from Grayscale's converted bitcoin ETF in January, despite the bitcoin ETF's larger size. Post-market close Tuesday, crypto market-making firm Wintermute Trading observed in a note that investors seem to be gravitating away from the Grayscale ETF towards less expensive options.

Grayscale's newly introduced, cost-effective Ethereum Mini Trust ETF, with a fee of just 0.15%, saw inflows of $15.1 million on its first day. Wintermute described the launch as a marginal success driven by strong real-money interest.

(With inputs from agencies.)