Emma Chen
ETH ETFs Break Records
Ethereum spot ETFs recorded their largest single-day inflow on December 10, 2024, with $506 million in net purchases pushing ETH above $4,000 for the first time since early 2022. The surge was led by BlackRock's ETHA and Fidelity's FETH products, which combined attracted over $350 million in new capital. According to The Block, total assets under management in Ethereum ETFs now exceed $12 billion, with institutional investors rotating capital from Bitcoin ETFs into Ethereum for higher growth potential. The buying pressure comes as Ethereum's staking ratio hits 28% of total supply, removing 33 million ETH from liquid circulation. Traders note that unlike Bitcoin, Ethereum has additional catalysts including the upcoming Pectra upgrade, Layer 2 scaling solutions processing over 10 million transactions daily, and real-world asset tokenization driving network usage. The ETF inflows have created a supply crunch, with exchange reserves falling to multi-year lows as institutions custody assets in cold storage, reducing sell pressure significantly.
Institutional Staking Drives Demand
A key driver of institutional Ethereum demand is the ability to earn staking yields, currently around 3.5% annually, on top of price appreciation. As reported by CoinDesk, several ETF issuers are exploring staking ETF products that would pass yield to shareholders, potentially creating even stronger demand. The combination of deflationary tokenomics from EIP-1559 burning and increasing staking lockup has turned Ethereum into a scarce asset, with some analysts comparing it to digital real estate that generates rent. Traditional finance institutions view Ethereum's smart contract platform as critical infrastructure for the tokenization of trillions in real-world assets, from treasury bonds to real estate. With ETF inflows accelerating, staking ratios rising, and major protocol upgrades on the horizon, market observers predict Ethereum could reach $5,000-$6,000 in early 2025 as the supply shock intensifies and institutional adoption continues to ramp.
