Ethereum spot ETF in high demand, debut trading volume exceeds $500 million

On Tuesday, local time around 7:23, the Ethereum spot ETF was publicly listed for trading in the United States. On its debut day, investors showed enthusiasm, with the media estimating that the total trading volume of the first batch of nine Ethereum ETFs in the first few hours after opening exceeded $500 million.

The media pointed out that compared to the $4.6 billion trading volume on the first day of the Bitcoin spot ETF listing in January this year, the trading volume of the Ethereum ETF is just a drop in the bucket. However, for ETFs making their debut in the U.S. market, this is already considered a strong start. Several Ethereum ETFs are expected to enter the top 50 U.S. ETFs with the highest trading volume on the first day of listing this Tuesday.

As of 12:30 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, the trading volume of the iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (fund code ETHA) issued by BlackRock has reached $1.19 billion, ranking 38th on the U.S. ETF first-day trading volume list, equivalent to over $1 billion in half-day trading volume; Grayscale's Grayscale Ethereum Trust (code ETHE), which has converted from a trust to an ETF, has a trading volume of approximately $220 million; Bitwise Asset Management Inc.'s Bitwise Ethereum ETF (code ETH) has a trading volume of over $64 million.

Trading volume does not reflect the flow of funds from investors buying or selling, and we may have to wait until Wednesday to get data on the net inflows or outflows of funds related to the Ethereum ETF. However, Drew Walsh, Vice President of Research and Operations at Roundhill Financial, commented that the audience for Ethereum ETFs and Bitcoin ETFs is similar. They are not native cryptocurrency audiences but rather individuals who are new to this asset class and wish to have exposure to cryptocurrency risks.

Some industry comments have been optimistic about the investment prospects brought by the listing of Ethereum ETFs in the Ethereum market.

Wall Street News previously mentioned that in May this year, the U.S. SEC approved exchange-related plans to pave the way for the listing of Ethereum ETFs. Industry insiders stated that the launch of Ethereum ETFs may lead to a surge in market demand, potentially causing a shortage of Ethereum supply. In a situation of supply shortage, the price of Ethereum may become more sensitive to fund inflows, with locked Ethereum unable to meet the additional demand from ETFs, further exacerbating the supply shortage and driving up the price of Ethereum. Therefore, the listing of Ethereum ETFs may indicate a crucial "turning point" before the surge in cryptocurrency prices.

Last month, Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, predicted that the Ethereum spot ETF would attract $15 billion in net fund flows within the first 18 months of listing This week, the media mentioned that research firm Steno Research predicts that the launch of an Ethereum spot ETF may attract capital inflows of $15 to $20 billion in its first year, which is roughly equivalent to the inflow of the Bitcoin spot ETF in just seven months.

Wintermute's statistics show that analysts currently expect capital inflows into the Ethereum ETF in the range of $4.8 to $6.4 billion in the first year after listing. Wintermute's own analysts predict that the inflow will be lower than this range, at $3.2 to $4 billion.

Christopher Jensen, Director of Digital Asset Research at Franklin Templeton, stated that investors may accept an Ethereum ETF faster than a Bitcoin ETF, as many have had the opportunity to get involved with Bitcoin ETFs before. The total capital inflow of the Ethereum spot ETF may reach around 30% of the Bitcoin spot ETF, as Bitcoin's market value exceeds $1.3 trillion, roughly three times that of Ethereum