On July 22, Grayscale transferred $1 billion worth of Ether to Coinbase, marking its preparation for the launch of spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States. This significant move comes just a day before the anticipated start of trading for the first spot Ether ETFs on July 23.
Following this transfer, around 10% of the 292,000 ETH, valued at $3,525 each, was moved from Coinbase’s hot wallet to the Grayscale Mini Trust, identified as wallet “0xab3.” This detail was reported on July 23 by data provider iChaininfo.
Grayscale Moves $1B in ETH Before U.S. Spot Ether ETFs Launch
On July 22, Grayscale executed a $1 billion Ether transfer to Coinbase, just a day before the debut of the first batch of U.S.-based spot Ether ETFs, scheduled to begin trading on July 23. This substantial move indicates Grayscale’s preparations to support the ETF launch by pre-seeding funds.
Coinbase will act as the custodian for eight of the nine newly approved Ether ETFs. The exchange already manages custody for 10 of the 11 existing spot Bitcoin ETFs, as announced on July 22. On the same day, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the final S-1 registration statements required for the ETFs to launch on stock exchanges.
The approved Ether ETF issuers include BlackRock, Fidelity, 21Shares, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, and Invesco Galaxy. Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust will be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, while the BlackRock-issued iShares Ethereum Trust will be listed on the Nasdaq.
Among the prospective Ether ETF issuers, Grayscale’s fund offers the lowest waiver fee of 0.15%, according to James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg.
The Grayscale Ether ETF will have no fees for the first six months of trading.
Institutional Investors Show Greater Optimism for Ether Ahead of ETF Launch
A week before the ETF launch, institutional investors demonstrated more bullish sentiment toward Ether than retail investors, according to Eugene Cheung, head of institutions at Bybit. After the ETF announcement, institutional exposure to Ether surged from 6.54% to 14.29%.
During the same period, retail investor allocation increased from 7.4% to 9.52%, reflecting a cautious but positive view on Ether’s price.
Cheung suggested that the increased interest generated by the ETFs could potentially double Ether’s price within the next six months. He further expressed optimism about Ether’s long-term prospects, predicting it could double in value over the next 18 months, offering investors an attractive risk/reward ratio.
Currently, Ether is 28% below its all-time high of over $4,800, which was reached in November 2021.
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