Today's launch of the Ethereum ETF marks a significant development for digital assets in traditional financial markets. Nine different spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) from eight issuers began trading on US exchanges, reviving a typically quiet trading environment.
Ethereum ETF makes an impressive start
Trading began actively from the first bell, in the first 15 minutes the trading volume reached $112 million, and by the 90th minute - $361 million. Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted that the new Ethereum ETFs ranked among the top 1% of ETFs by initial volume, comparing them to funds such as TLT and EEM.
Market leaders
The Grayscale ETHE ETF had the highest trading volume at $458 million. It is followed by BlackRock's ETHA with $248.7 million and Fidelity's FETH with $137.3 million. Bitwise's ETHW also saw significant activity with $94.3 million in volume. The remaining participants, including ETH from Grayscale, ETHV from VanEck, EZET from Franklin Templeton, QETH from Invesco and CETH from 21Shares, brought in a total of $1,083.4 million.
Midday Pulse
By noon, trading volume continued to grow. By 12:30 pm ET, cumulative volume had reached nearly $600 million. Grayscale ETHE still led the way with $250 million in volume, followed by BlackRock's ETHA with $130 million and Fidelity's Advantage Ether with $77 million. Bitwise recorded $66 million.
Eric Balchunas noted that some of Grayscale's volume was due to outflows. However, the pace of trading suggested that the new ETFs would reach $940 million by the end of the day. Analysts predicted demand for Ethereum ETFs to be 20% of demand for Bitcoin ETFs due to factors such as less awareness and the lack of ability to stake Ethereum through funds.
Record end of the day
By 3 p.m., total trading volume exceeded $1.019 billion. Grayscale ETHE continued to lead the way with $456 million, nearly half of the total. BlackRock's ETHA reached $240 million (24%) and Fidelity's FETH reached $136 million (13%).
Bloomberg Intelligence noted that volumes correlated with inflows of $655 million, reflecting growing interest in Ethereum-based investment vehicles and their potential to attract significant capital.
Industry reaction
The president of The ETF Store, expressed optimism about the future of the Ethereum ETF: “I don’t expect the same hype as with the Bitcoin ETF, but if the Ethereum ETF attracts 20-25% of the assets of the Bitcoin ETF, it will be a successful outcome.” Markus Thielen, founder of 10x Research, also noted that Ethereum's lower funding rate may impact institutional interest, but strong initial volumes indicate strong demand for these new financial products.
Subscribe to the blog @Sasha why NOT here we publish new articles, videos and other materials that will help you make informed investment decisions. And also follow my investment show
