U.S. spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds suffered a four-day outflow streak totaling $787.6 million last week, marking one of the most severe capital flights since the products launched.
Grayscale’s ETHE suffered the largest single-day outflow with $309.9 million exiting on September 5, while Fidelity’s FETH saw $216.7 million flee on September 4.
BlackRock’s ETHA posted mixed flows, recording $148.8 million in inflows on September 4 before reversing to $309.9 million in outflows the following day.
The bloodletting culminated in Thursday’s $446.8 million exodus, the largest single-day outflow since August 4, according to Farside Investors.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin ETFs recorded $332.8 million in inflows on September 2 and $300.5 million on September 3, before posting outflows of $222.9 million and $160.1 million on September 4-5, resulting in net inflows of $250.3 million over the four days.
Profit-taking and macro anxiety
“Last week’s record outflows from Ethereum ETFs should be seen less as a vote of no confidence and more as a natural repositioning,” Farzam Ehsani, co-founder & CEO of VALR, told Decrypt. “After strong August inflows, many institutional desks have likely been taking profits.”
U.S. Ethereum ETF products cannot stake their holdings, making ETH exposure “less compelling in risk-off weeks compared to Bitcoin,” Ehsani said.
The hemorrhaging marks a complete about-face from August’s $3.87 billion in Ethereum ETF inflows, which “dominated” institutional crypto flows.
“I think the speed of ETH spot ETFs outflow is as telling as its size,” Konstantin Anissimov, Global CEO of Currency.com, told Decrypt. “Now, it looks like investors are moving out.”
Anissimov attributed the rotation to macro anxiety amid soft labor data and recession fears, pushing institutional money toward Bitcoin ETFs as the “safer” digital asset during market turbulence.
“ETH is seen as a higher-beta play. That makes it the first target when risk appetite decreases,” he said.
Ethereum is currently trading at $4,304, flat on the day and down 3.3% over the past week, according to CoinGecko.
In comparison, Bitcoin trades at $111,811, up 0.5% in the last day and 2.1% in the last seven days, pointing to its relative outperformance during the turbulent period.
The ETF retreat also contrasts with whale behavior, as large holders increased ETH positions by 14% over five months, according to Santiment data.
Despite the exodus, Anissimov maintained Ethereum’s fundamentals, including “staking growth, DeFi activity, and network health remain strong,” calling the outflows “timing rather than conviction.”
