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Ethereum exchange-traded funds recorded their second consecutive week of outflows between October 20 and 24, with investors withdrawing $243.91 million—marking the first time since April that ether ETFs have posted back-to-back weekly losses.
Data from SoSoValue revealed that between October 20 and 24, the nine listed Ether ETFs collectively saw $243.91 million withdrawn, extending the losing streak to two straight weeks which is the first time since April such a pattern has occurred.
Leading the Ethereum ETF outflow was Fidelity’s FETH, which recorded $95.2 million in redemptions. BlackRock’s ETHA followed closely with $89.1 million, while Grayscale’s ETHE and ETH funds saw a combined $49.6 million in outflows. Minor outflows from Bitwise’s ETHW and VanEck’s ETHV, totaling around $10 million, rounded out the week’s losses.
When combined with the prior week, total Ethereum ETF outflow now stands at $555.7 million, reflecting a waning appetite for Ethereum-linked investment products amid fluctuating macroeconomic conditions.
“The persistence of outflows indicates a growing divide between short-term traders and long-term institutional holders,” said Alex Thorn, Head of Firmwide Research at Galaxy Digital, in commentary on recent market trends. “Investors appear to be rotating capital back into Bitcoin ETFs as Ethereum’s price momentum remains choppy.”
While Ethereum struggled to regain traction, Bitcoin ETFs saw renewed demand. According to the same SoSoValue data, 12 Bitcoin funds collectively attracted $446.36 million in inflows, reversing a prior week’s $1.23 billion in outflows.
This divergence highlights how risk perception has shifted among institutional investors. Market participants remain cautious about Ethereum’s near-term trajectory, particularly following sharp declines earlier this month and broader risk-off sentiment linked to global economic concerns.
Analysts note that many investors awaited key U.S. macroeconomic data, including Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures, which were released on October 25. The report showed headline inflation rising slightly from 2.9% to 3.0%, while core inflation eased from 3.1% to 3.0%, raising expectations of a potential Federal Reserve rate cut.
According to CME Group’s FedWatch tool, traders now see a 96.7% chance of a 25-basis-point cut, which could inject liquidity and bolster risk assets, including cryptocurrencies. However, despite this optimism, the Ethereum ETF outflow suggests that investors are still taking a wait-and-see approach before re-entering the Ether market.
Despite institutional hesitation, Ethereum’s market price has shown signs of recovery. After dipping to around $3,880 on October 24, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency climbed more than 7% to trade at $4,229, successfully breaking through a $4,200 resistance level.
Ethereum’s rebound suggests retail and spot market strength even as ETF investors retreat, said Pascal, a pseudonymous crypto analyst and market watcher. He added that ETH’s current wave structure, based on Elliott Wave Theory, indicates that the asset could be preparing for a fifth-wave rally potentially targeting between $5,800 and $6,300 in the medium term.
This technical setup implies that the Ethereum ETF outflow trend may not fully reflect underlying network or market strength. Ethereum’s broader ecosystem spanning DeFi, Layer-2 scaling, and institutional tokenization continues to expand, even amid investor caution in ETF markets.
Market experts are divided over whether the Ethereum ETF outflow trend will persist. Some point to the improving inflation outlook and growing institutional interest in Ethereum’s ecosystem as potential catalysts for renewed inflows. Others caution that price volatility and shifting regulatory dynamics in the United States could limit near-term enthusiasm.
ETF demand often lags price action by several weeks, said James Butterfill, Head of Research at CoinShares, in a recent report on digital asset flows. If Ethereum continues to outperform technically, we could see a reversal in these flows heading into November.
For now, the market remains at an inflection point. The Ethereum ETF outflow serves as a reminder that investor psychology in digital assets can shift quickly driven as much by macroeconomic sentiment as by blockchain fundamentals.
Despite recent outflows, Ethereum’s long-term fundamentals remain robust. According to Glassnode, on-chain activity and staking participation continue to grow steadily, with over 33 million ETH now staked on the network which is an all-time high.
This underlying strength could help stabilize ETF sentiment once macroeconomic clarity improves. As Ethereum consolidates above $4,200 and traders anticipate potential upside toward $4,600, analysts say that institutional conviction could return sooner than expected.
The key question is not whether Ethereum has value as it’s when institutional investors will feel confident enough to price it in again, Katie Talati, Director of Research at Arca, told Bloomberg earlier this week.
For now, the Ethereum ETF outflow reflects short-term caution rather than a loss of faith in Ethereum’s long-term promise.
