Officially, the Ethereum [ETH] Exchange-Traded Funds made their way to the market on July 23, 2024, and made a big splash. Trading volumes for these ETFs surged beyond $1 billion within a period of 24 hours. Let’s break down what that means and what could be coming next.

Ethereum ETFs Break Records

The launch of the Ethereum ETFs was huge for the crypto world. People have been looking forward to this move, especially after the approval of the Bitcoin [BTC] ETFs earlier this year. The hype was palpable, and numbers show it really is big.

Last week, Chicago Board Options Exchange, or CBOE, approved nine different Ethereum ETFs, and they were also approved for listing by the NYSE. Their volume upon trading was already impressive, starting at $110 million and surging to $600 million.

By the end of the first day, Ethereum ETF trading had hit over $1 billion. That surprised some, as that represented more than 23% of the volume seen on the first day of Bitcoin ETF trading.

In the Ethereum ETFs, the Ishares ETH Trust came top, trading USD 694.5 million. That was 25 percent higher in volume against its immediate rival, IBIT. Another Ethereum ETF, ETHE, moved USD 248 million. That would mean that, at this time, Ethereum ETFs are in greater demand compared to those in Bitcoin.

Big Reactions in the Crypto Community

The surge in Ethereum ETF trading has invited a lot of discussion among experts and investors. One such analyst, Eric Balchunas, posted some interesting insights on his X formerly Twitter page. He compared the first-day performance of Ethereum ETFs to all new ETF launches in the last year, excluding Bitcoin ETFs. His analysis had the following points :

– ETHA was the top performer by a large margin.
– FETH came in second.
– ETHW was fifth.
– ETH was seventh.
– ETHV was thirteenth.

Balchunas explained that even the worst-performing Ethereum ETF, CETH, was still in the top 10% of new launches. This simply goes on to prove the exceptional nature of the Ethereum ETF launch.

Increased Activity from Big Investors

The approval of the Ethereum ETFs has increased activity from the bigger investors, known as “whales.” These are investors making large purchases and selling their Ethereum. Santiment, a data analysis company, reported that there has been an increase in Ethereum transfers worth more than $100,000 since the trading of the Ethereum ETFs began. They reported:

– Transfers of Ethereum above $100,000 have surged by 64% as compared to Bitcoin transfers.
– In comparison with USDT, a stablecoin on Ethereum, the transfers of Ethereum have gone up by 126%.

From this surge in whale activity, it is straightforward that the big investors do have strong confidence in the future of Ethereum and think these new ETFs will cause the price to surge.

Effects on Ethereum’s Price

At the moment, Ethereum changes hands at about $3,449, down 0.06 percent in the last 24 hours. Over the week, Ethereum’s price is down 1.10 percent. While trading volumes for Ethereum ETFs have been really high, the Ethereum price itself has fallen by 12% since before these ETFs’ approval.

Although the euphoria around the ETFs did result in a 30% surge in trading volumes before they were approved, these volumes have now diminished to 18.57% post-approval. What one can deduce from this data is that while the launch of Ethereum ETFs was a big deal theoretically, in reality, it hasn’t affected the price of Ethereum yet.

What’s Next?

The huge trading volume that has been achieved with Ethereum ETFs is a sure indicator of great interest and confidence that exists on the part of investors. How well these ETFs will do in upcoming months, and how they may influence the price of Ethereum at a later period, will indeed be most interesting to see. The investments and analyses by investors will definitely be keenly watched to establish whether this initial excitement really amounts to long-term gains.