The sudden reversal of Ethereum ETF demand
Investors withdrew $118 million from U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs between September 29 and October 1, marking a sharp reversal from the $690 million inflow seen the previous week. This shift indicates a growing rotation toward Bitcoin as Ethereum faces significant price pressure.
Investors pulled $118 million from U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs between September 29 and October 1. This reversal follows a massive $690 million inflow during the week of September 21. The momentum shifted when the third quarter ended on September 30. On September 29, investors withdrew $3 million. The exit intensified on September 30 with a $60 million withdrawal, while another $55 million left the funds on October 1. Fidelity led these October 1 outflows by withdrawing roughly $24 million. Only Grayscale’s Ethereum Mini Trust saw an inflow of $2 million on that same day. While the week of September 21 brought in $690 million through funds like BlackRock’s ETHA and Fidelity’s FETH, the subsequent three days from September 29 to October 1 saw investors pull $118 million from the market. The September 21 week saw ETHA attract $326 million and FETH add $174 million. BlackRock’s ETHA is the largest, with over $6.5 billion in assets and roughly 47% of cumulative inflows.
| Fund | Expense Ratio |
|---|---|
| BlackRock ETHA | 0.25% |
| Fidelity FETH | 0.25% |
| VanEck ETHV | 0.20% |
| Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust | 0.15% |
| Grayscale ETHE | 0.50% |
Bitcoin demand outpaces Ether
Bitcoin ETFs saw $82.9 million in net inflows for the week of September 28 to October 2. During that same period, Ethereum funds recorded $118 million in net outflows. The divergence is clear between September 28 and October 1, when Bitcoin funds attracted $51 million while Ethereum funds lost $101 million. This indicates a rotation toward Bitcoin as the primary digital asset. In July, Ethereum funds attracted $103.90 million in net inflows, outpacing Bitcoin funds by a factor of three. However, the current sentiment favors Bitcoin as Ethereum prices face pressure. Earlier in August, BlackRock’s ETHA attracted $122.12 million in a single day, which was its largest inflow in seven months. That August session coincided with a 16% rally in ETH. Still, the September inflows of $824.41 million during the week of August 24 to 28 vanished as investors exited. The Ethereum market holds $17.7 billion in assets. This amount exceeds the $13.8 billion in net total inflows investors contributed since the launch. In 2026, U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs pulled in $1.5 billion, which was more than Bitcoin’s $985 million. The funds recorded more than $540 million in net outflows during May and nearly $529 million in June. BitMine added 101,901 ETH over the last week, bringing its total holdings to 5,078,386 ETH.
Technical shifts and staking yields
Ethereum trades near $2,680. The Sepolia Glamsterdam upgrade scheduled for October 6 introduces technical changes like embedded Proposer-Builder Separation via EIP-7732. The update also includes Block Access Lists via EIP-7928 to enable clients to prefetch accessed accounts and storage slots. It also incorporates gas pricing adjustments via EIPs 8037 and 8038 to reflect state creation and access costs. The upgrade uses Lodestar 1.49.0, Prysm 7.2.0, and Teku 26.9.1 for consensus, alongside Besu 26.9.0, Erigon 3.7.0, and go-ethereum 1.17.6 for execution. You should compare the net yield they distribute, not the headline rate. BlackRock’s ETHB, which launched in March 2026, stakes 70% to 95% of its holdings and pays a net yield of about 2% per year to holders. Grayscale’s ETHE has seen cumulative outflows near $5.39 billion since its conversion. Ethereum is the worst performer among major digital assets in 2026, sitting 60% below its peak of $4,946. Bitcoin sits 48% below its peak. Will the Sepolia Glamsterdam upgrade provide enough fundamental support to reverse the institutional exodus?
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