On Monday, investors poured millions of dollars into U.S.-listed spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), even as the global market crashed due to heightened expectations of further rate hikes by the Bank of Japan, recession fears, and the escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Rumors of market maker Jump Trading’s liquidating its crypto business further exacerbated Monday’s market rout.
Only a week ago, BTC traded near $70,000 with traders elated about Trump’s likely return to the White House and hopes of making the preeminent crypto a strategic reserve asset. Since then, the Bitcoin price plunged 30% from peak to trough, marking the steepest drop during the current market cycle. Notably, Ethereum’s price fell as much as 20% on Monday, which is its biggest one-day price decline since 2021.
The turbulence caused the widely-used Crypto Fear and Greed Index to flash “fear” — its lowest zone since early July. The index measures market sentiment for Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency industry to indicate whether participants are in fear — usually a sign of local bottoms — or greedy, which indicates market tops.
Ether ETF Investors Buy Dip
Even as global markets suffered, spot Ether ETFs logged a daily net inflow of $48.7 million, which is the second-biggest daily inflow since the ETH-based products started trading on July 23 — suggesting significant demand for the second-largest crypto by market value. This means professional ETF investors with long-term strategies were calmly purchasing Ethereum amid a heavy volume day on Monday.
Data compiled by SoSoValue shows that BlackRock’s ETHA led the charge with $47 million in inflows. VanEck and Fidelity’s ETH ETFs followed each drawing in $16 million in fresh capital. Funds from Franklin Templeton and Bitwise also registered net inflows.
Grayscale’s recently converted Ethereum Trust (ETHE) was the only product to record net outflows on August 5, hemorrhaging $46.84 million, while the firm’s smaller and much cheaper Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH) attracted $7 million in inflows. Ether ETFs from Invesco and 21shares drew in $0 cash for the day. Overall, the 9 newborn spot ETH ETFs traded approximately $715.61 million.
Ethereum has clawed back some losses from Monday’s sell-off. According to CoinGecko data, the Ether price has settled at $2,530, up 10.9% over the last 24 hours, after having seen a low of $2,197.15 yesterday.
