For the first time in the 18-month history of US spot-crypto exchange-traded funds, the day’s heaviest torrent of institutional cash swept into Ethereum, not Bitcoin. Flow tallies for Thursday put net subscriptions across the nine US spot Ether ETFs at $602 million, edging out the $522.6 million that landed in the 11-strong cohort of U spot Bitcoin ETFs. The figures, compiled by on-chain analytics site SoSoValue, mark a symbolic hand-off between the two flagship assets in a market where Bitcoin has dominated inflows since July 2024.
Structural tailwinds extend beyond arbitrage. Nasdaq has just filed to add native staking to BlackRock’s ETHA—a move that, if approved, would let the fund earn network rewards and potentially lift its headline yield above 5 percent, making Ether ETFs a rare blend of growth asset and income instrument.
Yet Thursday’s flip in the daily standings underscores palpable momentum for Ethereum. Analysts attribute part of the shift to Ethereum-specific catalysts: a six-month high in staking yields, anticipation of SEC approval for staking-enabled ETFs by year-end, and bipartisan momentum behind the GENIUS and CLARITY bills that would hard-wire commodity status for most large-cap crypto assets.
Whether Thursday proves an inflection point or a statistical blip will depend on the sustainability of that rotation. For now, a once-unthinkable headline—Ethereum ETFs beat Bitcoin ETFs—captures the market.
At press time, ETH traded at $3,612.
