Speaking at the European Blockchain Convention, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan expressed confidence that spot Ethereum ETFs will succeed despite a slow start.
Early Launch and Market Reaction
Ethereum exchange-traded funds may have launched prematurely, as noted by Hougan during a panel on Sept. 25 in Barcelona, Spain. The Bitwise executive pointed out that Wall Street market players were still acclimating to Bitcoin’s message when spot ETH ETFs debuted.
They would have raised five times more assets if we had waited another year. It takes people a long time to digest Bitcoin and be ready for the next thing.
Timeline and SEC Approvals
ETFs tracking Etherβs spot price launched in late July, over five months after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved similar products backed by Bitcoin in January. Issuers have applied for options on these products, but the SEC has only approved options for BlackRockβs spot BTC ETF. The SEC has delayed its decision on options for spot ETH ETFs until November.
Market Dynamics and Investor Sentiment
Outflows, mostly from existing Grayscale ETH funds, have hindered the success of spot Ether ETFs, according to some market analysts. However, Bitwiseβs Hougan offered a different perspective, suggesting that Ethereum ETFs will inevitably attract traditional finance investors.
Itβs a more complex message, and they were still getting their hands around Bitcoin. But itβll happen. Weβll wake up a year from now, there will be $20 billion in Ethereum ETFs in the U.S., and everyone will say, βWow, I thought they were a bust.β No, they werenβt bust. These ETFs just take a while.
Current Performance and Future Outlook
As of now, the Ethereum ETF complex has seen over $624 million in net outflows. The group, led by $10 trillion asset management giant BlackRock, holds just over $7.2 billion in assets. Hougan expects improved spot Ether ETF numbers to align with a resurgence in ETHβs narrative.
While Bitcoin has thrived under the βdigital goldβ narrative and Solana has gained attention for its fast transactions, Ethereum has lagged, according to Hougan.
That will end, though. I think the market is coming back around to Ethereum, but itβs taken some time.
Ethereum has grown 14% in the past week and was back above $2,600. Some experts speculate that the second-largest cryptocurrency could experience a bullish fourth quarter, driven by Federal Reserve rate cuts and renewed optimism in the virtual currency market.
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