Ethereum ETFs are finally waking up after months of being ignored. After launching in July 2024 with barely any excitement, these funds are now pulling in cash for the sixth straight week, and have booked inflows in eight of the last nine weeks.
According to SoSoValue, this is the most consistent interest Ethereum ETFs have seen since they started trading. The same products that were being called zombie funds earlier this year are suddenly alive and pulling in real money.
This renewed appetite comes as the second-largest crypto by market cap finds itself back in the middle of regulatory actions in the US. Traders are also paying attention again, thanks to new progress around stablecoins, which mostly run on the Ethereum network.
Source: SoSo Value
A key event was the IPO of Circle, the company behind the second-largest stablecoin. That, combined with a leadership shake-up at the Ethereum Foundation, is drawing institutions back in.
Institutions quietly re-enter as arbitrage opportunities grow
Ben Kurland, CEO of research firm DYOR, said big players have been changing strategy. “What we’re seeing is institutional recalibration,” Ben said. “After the initial ETH ETF approval fizzled without a price pop, smart money started quietly building positions. They’re betting not on price momentum but on positioning ahead of utility unlocks like staking access, options listings, and eventually inflows from retirement platforms.”
So far, Ethereum ETF inflows have reached around $3.9 billion. That’s tiny compared to bitcoin ETFs, which pulled in $36 billion in their first year. But Ethereum is starting to catch up. Chris Rhine, who heads liquid active strategies at Galaxy Digital, pointed to one reason why. “With increasing acceptance of crypto on Wall Street, especially now as a means for payments and remittances, investors are being drawn to ETH ETFs,” Chris said.
The arbitrage window is also helping. Right now, the CME basis on Ethereum—the gap between futures and spot prices—is wider than Bitcoin’s. This gives traders a chance to go long on Ethereum ETFs and short on futures, squeezing out profits. That strategy is simple and repeatable. It’s also one of the forces behind the steady ETF inflows we’re seeing now.
Even though the money is flowing into ETFs, the price of Ethereum itself hasn’t moved. It’s down this month. Over the past month, it’s basically flat. For the year, it’s fallen 25%. That’s not a small drop. Ethereum has struggled with its identity. Since its last major upgrade, revenue is down. Solana is gaining ground. Traders aren’t sure what Ethereum’s long-term value looks like anymore.
There’s also macro pressure. This year has been full of geopolitical noise, and that has kept volatility high across crypto. In March, Standard Chartered cut its Ethereum price target by more than half. Even then, the bank said there’s still a chance the coin recovers by the end of the year. The recent ETF inflow spike already slowed down, but it hasn’t reversed.
Bitcoin momentum adds fuel to Ethereum demand
While Ethereum plays catch-up, Bitcoin is doing what it always does; moving the market. After hitting an all-time high in May, Bitcoin fell 10% over the next nine days. Now it’s almost fully recovered.
The rebound is powered by institutions, policy, and market structure. The IBIT ETF has already hit $70 billion in assets in just 341 days. That’s more than five times faster than SPDR Gold ETF’s record.
There’s also a clear setup on the charts. The weekly chart of bitcoin futures has been climbing since late 2022. One key metric, the Average Percent True Range (APTR), shows how much the price moves over time, in percentage terms.
Right now, the 10-week APTR is at 8.5%. That’s low, and it usually happens just before a breakout. Every time APTR dropped to around 9% or 7%, Bitcoin launched higher.
On the daily chart, APTR is hovering between 3% and 4% over the past 10 trading sessions. That’s another low reading. Bitcoin is testing the $110,000 resistance level for the third time. Some traders are calling for a breakout, with a Fibonacci target set at $135,000.
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