Ethereum ETFs: Are They Magic Internet Money?

by

Right. So, about a year ago, someone in a suit decided it would be a splendid idea to let people gamble on ‘ether’ – that’s the second-most complicated cryptocurrency, after the one that’s just… there – without actually, you know, having the cryptocurrency. They called them ‘spot Ethereum ETFs’. It’s basically giving money to someone who says they have ether. Trust is a big part of modern finance, apparently. 🙄

The first few months were, shall we say, a bit like watching a tortoise attempt the hurdles. Lots of money going in, mostly to hide other money going out of something called Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust (ETHE), which sounded suspiciously like a particularly gloomy weather system. Then, things got… interesting. And by interesting, I mean money started piling in. Like a dragon guarding a hoard, except the hoard is digital and probably won’t buy you a decent castle. 🐉

How Are These… Things… Doing?

According to some folks at CryptoPotato – and really, what better source is there? – these ETFs started with $106 million coming in, largely because someone was emptying the ETHE coffers. It was like a financial game of musical chairs, only everyone was wearing very expensive suits.

BlackRock, who clearly know a thing or two about moving money around (and probably have a very good accountant), took the lead, pulling in $266 million on day one and still leading the pack. Bitwise’s ETHW and Fidelity’s FETH weren’t far behind, hoovering up funds like enthusiastic vacuum cleaners. The others – 21Shares, Invesco, VanEck, Franklin Templeton – got the crumbs, ranging from $13 million to a paltry $7.5 million. Honestly, you’d think with names like that, they’d be swimming in cash. 🐟

Fast forward to Friday, July 18th, and things had improved. They sucked in over $402 million. But that’s just a warm-up. On July 16th, they somehow managed to accumulate a whopping $726 million! That’s more than some small countries’ GDP, probably. They’ve been on an eleven-day (then a *nineteenday!) binge since July 5th, racking up over $2.8 billion. BlackRock are still the big cheese with $7.92 billion under management, followed by ETHE at $3.46 billion. Seems people like things with names.

A Right Old Fuss

Now, this hasn’t all been sunshine and rainbows, of course. Ether, being ether, decided to have a bit of a sulk, which made things tricky. After that initial flurry of excitement, things went a bit quiet. People started asking questions like, “What actually *is* ether?” and “Should I have put my money in something less… digital?” Outflows became the new normal, and nobody was rushing to buy the stuff. 🤷‍♀️

The ETHE Trust kept bleeding money, and the others struggled to keep up. It was a bit bleak, really. But then, in mid-November, something shifted. An 18-day inflow streak began, only to be superseded by a glorious 19-day streak ending in June. And now, as people frantically throw money at ETH, the question remains: what does the future hold for these… ETFs? Possibly more numbers. Definitely more suits. And probably a lot more confusion.

Read More

2025-07-20 15:43