Ethereum Spot ETF officially listed for trading in the United States

On July 23, 2024, the U.S. securities market welcomed an important moment as 9 Ethereum Spot ETFs officially began trading. This marks a new developmental stage for Ethereum digital assets.

These ETFs are distributed across different exchanges:

• The CBOE Exchange has listed 5 ETFs, including products from 21Shares, Fidelity, Franklin, Invesco Galaxy, and VanEck.
• The Nasdaq Stock Exchange has listed BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust.
• The New York Stock Exchange Arca platform has listed ETFs from Grayscale, ProShares, and Bitwise.

In addition, the U.S. securities regulator has also approved Grayscale to convert its existing Ethereum trust into a Spot ETF.

In the first trading day, within approximately 2 hours, the total trading volume of these ETFs reached 434 million USD. Among them, Grayscale's products performed the best, attracting a capital inflow of 177.2 million USD. In contrast, 21Shares' ETF had the lowest trading volume, at only 4.69 million USD.

Industry analysts point out that the first-day trading volume of the Ethereum ETF, while considerable, is only about half of that of the Bitcoin ETF's first-day trading volume.

The opening prices of each ETF vary, with VanEck's product leading at a price of $50.06, while Grayscale's Mini Trust attracts a large number of trades at a low price of $3.26. The prices of other ETFs mostly range between $20 and $30.

Despite the start of ETF trading, the price of Ethereum has remained relatively stable. As of July 24, the price of ETH has only increased by 0.46%, with a market value of approximately 3455.2 USD.

These newly listed ETFs have differences in their fee structures. Most products have fees ranging from 0.2% to 0.25%, and some institutions also offer short-term rate discounts. Notably, Grayscale's product has the highest fee, reaching 2.5%.

Regarding the ETH staking issue, currently these ETFs do not participate in staking activities. According to reports, some institutions have attempted to include staking in ETF operations, but did not receive regulatory approval. This is mainly to ensure the timely redemption of ETF shares.

Industry experts believe that the launch of the Ethereum ETF marks a new stage in the development of blockchain digital assets. Analysts predict that these ETFs may attract $15 to $20 billion in capital inflow in the first year, comparable to the performance of Bitcoin ETFs.