Apart from Discover Bitcoin ETFs, Ethereum Futures ETFs have been the talk of the crypto industry for months as investors look for a catalyst for the next bull run. However, data shows that the highly anticipated ETFs have delivered disappointing results in terms of trading volume.
While the crypto market has seen some gains in recent days, these have not flowed into the Ethereum Futures ETFs as investors appear reluctant to adopt these new Ethereum investment vehicles.
How Have Ethereum Futures ETFs Done So Far?
Ethereum futures ETFs provide indirect exposure to the price of ETH through futures contracts and nine Ethereum Futures ETFs were released on Monday, October 2nd. These include ETFs from ProShares, VanEck, Bitwise and other financial companies after a year of anticipation.
Many expected the ETFs to be the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, riding on the early success of Bitcoin Futures ETFs. However, data shows that trading volume for these new products has remained relatively low to date.
According to a report According to Bloomberg, these nine futures ETFs raised $1.92 million in the 24 hours after launch. Most of this trading took place in the ProShares Ether Strategy ETF, which contributed more than 45% of trading volume.
Pretty low volume for the Ether Futures ETFs as a group, just under $2 million, about normal for a new ETF, but vs. $BITO (which earned $200 million in the first 15 minutes) is low. Tight race between VanEck and ProShares in the single eth track. pic.twitter.com/F9AHtrVcVf
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 2, 2023
Trading volume reached $15.6 million on Wednesday, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence. Currently, inflows are led by the VanEck Ethereum Strategy ETF (EFUT), which has $8.27 million, followed by the ProShares Ether Strategy ETF (EETH), which has $5.96 million.
Ether futures ETFs are seeing a few flows, not a ton, but it’s something, +$15.6 million, with VanEck having an early lead over ProShares. pic.twitter.com/e0bu7T0ZLT
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 4, 2023
By comparison, Bitcoin Futures ETFs recorded $1 billion in trading volume within the first 24 hours of launch. But it is important to note that market sentiment was not the same during these two periods. Bitcoin futures ETFs were launched during the peak of the 2021 crypto bull market, and cryptocurrencies have seen major pullbacks since then.
Future prospects of ETH
While Ethereum futures ETFs offer a new way to gain exposure to Ethereum, their low trading volume shows that they have not yet attracted significant mainstream interest. These ETFs should be a sustainable catalyst for Ethereum’s price, but this has not been the case.
Ethereum Spot ETFs have also been in discussions ARK Invest submits the first application early September. If approval is granted, Spotting ETFs are more likely to outperform futures ETFs.
Despite Ethereum pushing over $1,700 on Monday after the launch of the futures ETFs has since lost all these gains. At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $1,630.
ETH price suffers as ETF volumes disappoint | Source: ETHUSD on Tradingview.com
Featured image from Crypto News, chart from TradingView.com