**News Flash: Institutional Investors Bullish on Ether Ahead of ETF Launch**

Institutional investors are showing strong confidence in Ether (ETH) compared to retail investors, just a week before the potential launch of the first spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Bybit's head of institutions, Eugene Cheung, revealed that institutional investors have significantly increased their Ether exposure, doubling from 6.54% to 14.29% following the ETF announcement. In contrast, retail investors' allocation rose more modestly from 7.4% to 9.52%.

Cheung predicts that Ether's price could potentially double within the next 18 months, driven by the anticipation of ETF approval and increased interest in the Ethereum ecosystem. Currently, Ether is trading at $3,420, up 11.3% on the weekly chart.

Despite this optimism, Ether would need an additional $412 billion in investment to reach the $6,800 mark. While Ether ETFs are expected to attract significant inflows, they may still lag behind Bitcoin ETFs in the short term. However, improved regulatory clarity could help Ether outperform Bitcoin in the long run due to its diverse use cases.