Ether ETF Inflows Surge, Adding Assets to BlackRock’s ETHA

Spot Ether ETFs pulled in millions last week as recent developments, including favorable regulator comments, are building the case that the No. 2 cryptocurrency is becoming a more mainstream asset.

The eight spot Ether exchange-traded funds, which began trading last July, pulled in net inflows of $326 million last week, according to FactSet data on etf.com. For the year, they’ve grabbed $1.7 billion, according to London-based CoinShares.

ETHA Leads Ether Flows

Inflows overwhelmingly went into the $3.8 billion iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), the largest spot Ether ETF. That fund pulled in $303.5 million, or 93% of all Ether inflows last week. Half of the eight spot Ether ETFs pulled in no new money last week, while the No. 2 fund, the $1.3 billion Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH), had $15.8 million in inflows.

Spot Ether ETFs—Source: FactSet

Those inflows came even as the fund dipped 2% last week. They also may have taken some share from spot Bitcoin ETFs, which had $56 million in outflows last week, according to CoinShares.  

The flows come amid renewed interest in Ether, the native token used on the Ethereum network. Last week the Securities and Exchange Commission released a statement boosting Ether, saying that the so-called "staking" dividend mechanism is not a securities offering. Such a move suggests staking may be allowed this year in Ethereum ETFs after a long wait, said Luke Nolan, CoinShares senior Ethereum research associate.

Ether's Institutional Appeal 

The SEC comment “likely boosts the institutional appeal of the asset, which has been driving flows in anticipation of this,” Nolan wrote in an email. The Ethereum Foundation's appointment of Tomasz Stańczak as co-executive director is boosting confidence in the coin, as is last month’s Pectra upgrade that boosts capacity and provides other improvements, Nolan said.

Still, while ETHA has added 17% this month, the Ether token is down 24% this year as rival currencies like Solana and XRP have competed for attention. Bitcoin, as measured by the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), has jumped 14% while pulling in $11.5 billion so far this year as President Donald Trump and his administration loosen the regulatory grip on cryptocurrencies.