US-based Spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have successfully completed their first year of trading, reaching their one-year anniversary on Wednesday, July 23, 2025. This milestone is being celebrated amidst a robust three-week period of continuous inflows, which has included some of their most significant daily inflows since their inception.
A year ago, on July 23, 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave the green light for spot Ether ETFs to begin trading. Funds from major players like BlackRock, Fidelity, 21Shares, Bitwise, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, Invesco, and two from Grayscale, entered the market. Over these 12 months, these nine ETFs have collectively amassed approximately $8.69 billion in total net inflows and now command assets under management (AUM) totaling $16.57 billion, according to data from CoinGlass.
Nearly half of these total net inflows, roughly $3.9 billion, have occurred during an unbroken streak of inflows over the last 14 trading days, signaling renewed investor interest.
Despite this strong ETF performance, ETH itself has faced challenges in breaking above its all-time high of nearly $4,900, set in November 2021. In contrast, Bitcoin (BTC) has soared, while ETH has traded in a wide range between highs of $4,000 in December and lows of $1,500 in April. ETH is currently trading just above $3,600, having seen a slight dip today, but remains up over 8% in the past 12 months, according to CoinGecko.
Ether ETFs Show Growing Strength
On their first trading birthday, US Ether ETFs recorded their seventh-best day of inflows ever, bringing in a substantial $332.2 million on Wednesday. Nate Geraci, President of NovaDius Wealth Management, highlighted on X (formerly Twitter) that an impressive six out of the top seven inflow days for Ether ETFs have occurred within the past two weeks. Their single best-ever inflow day took place last Wednesday, July 16, with a massive $726.6 million flowing into the funds.
BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) has emerged as a dominant force, receiving the lion's share of net flows over the past year, totaling $8.9 billion. This strong performance has significantly helped to offset the nearly $4.3 billion in net outflows from the Grayscale Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHE). ETHE, which initially launched as a trust in 2017 before its conversion to an ETF, has seen investors exit as its discount to net asset value has narrowed.
Geraci also noted that since the launch of the ETH funds, "nearly 1,000 ETFs have launched," and BlackRock's ETH fund "leads all of them in inflows," underscoring its remarkable success.
Staking Greenlight: The Next Frontier for Ether ETFs
The next significant phase for Ether ETFs involves the potential addition of staking capabilities to their funds. Staking allows investors to earn rewards by locking up their ETH to secure the Ethereum network.
Analysts widely anticipate that the SEC could approve ETFs with staking as early as this month. Furthermore, there's growing speculation that the SEC may act swiftly on other crypto ETFs, including those tracking baskets of cryptocurrencies and even Solana (SOL). The first-ever ETF with staking recently launched earlier this month, a joint venture by REX Shares and Osprey Funds, which holds Solana and stakes it to pass on rewards directly to its investors. This precedent sets a promising outlook for the future evolution of Ether ETFs.
July 2025, Cryptoniteuae