BlackRock’s Ethereum ETF buying is slowing, even as ETH rallies
What happened
Cointelegraph reported on Tuesday that BlackRock’s two Ethereum ETFs, the spot iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) and the staking fund ETHB, bought $1.01 billion of ETH over the past 20 trading days. That is a large sum, but it is well below the figure that was circulating a week earlier.
On 17 September, Arkham data showed ETHA had bought roughly $1.27 billion of ETH over the prior 20 days and ETHB about $296.5 million, with ETHB recording no single-day net outflows during that stretch. Together that was about $1.57 billion. TechFlow
Farside Investors’ daily flow data shows the same trend. Over the 20 completed sessions from 18 August to 15 September, the two funds took in about $1.63 billion. Over the latest 20 sessions, from 24 August to 21 September, they took in about $1.13 billion: roughly $897 million for ETHA and $234 million for ETHB. Cointelegraph’s lower figure probably reflects different data timing, but every measure shows the pace of buying falling by about a third in a week.
Splitting the latest window in half makes the slowdown clearer. The first ten sessions, from 24 August to 4 September, brought in about $863 million. The second ten, from 8 to 21 September, brought in about $269 million.
Why it matters
Part of the drop is simple arithmetic. A 20-day total is a rolling window, so each new session pushes the oldest one out. Late August was one of the strongest stretches for these funds this year. As those sessions drop out and quieter September sessions replace them, the headline number falls even while daily flows stay positive.
September was also more than just quieter. ETHA posted outflows of $98.0 million on 15 September, $110.0 million on 16 September and $42.9 million on 17 September, and ETHB lost $19.8 million on 16 September. Together, the two funds shed about $258 million over those three sessions. ETHB’s outflow on 16 September also ended its clean run, so last week’s point about it never recording an outflow no longer holds. Farside Investors
It also helps to be clear about who is buying. The ETH is owned by the funds’ shareholders, not BlackRock’s corporate treasury, so the growing holdings mainly reflect client demand. Slower inflows mean BlackRock’s clients are adding less. They don’t mean BlackRock has changed its view. KuCoin
Flows versus price
The headline misses that ETH rose while this buying slowed. Over the month to 22 September, ETH gained about 9%, trading between roughly $2,358 and $2,805. Early on Tuesday, one ETH was priced at about $2,746. The two BlackRock funds returned to inflows on Friday and Monday, adding about $237 million over those sessions as the rally picked up. Investing.comFortune
That points to demand beyond the ETFs. Part of the latest move also looks mechanical. Ethereum liquidations reached $180.31 million in the latest wave, and about 84% of liquidations in the most recent hour came from short positions. When traders betting on a fall are forced to buy back, the price can rise without any new long-term buyer arriving. Yahoo Finance
ETF inflows are one source of demand, not the whole market. Price can rise while flows weaken, just as it can fall while flows are strong.
What could change the interpretation
The September softness would look more like a pause than a shift if ETHA returns to steady inflows while ETH holds its gains. If the rally continues while flows stay flat or negative, the move would rest more on leverage and short covering, which tends to be less durable than real-money buying.
It is also worth tracking the two funds together rather than separately. Some money has moved from ETHA into ETHB to earn staking yield, so part of ETHB’s inflow comes from BlackRock’s own spot fund rather than from new investors. OKX
What to watch next
The 20-day total will probably keep falling for several more sessions, almost regardless of daily flows. The five sessions from 24 to 28 August added about $644 million, and they drop out of the window one at a time through 28 September. To hold the rolling total near $1.13 billion, the two funds would need to average about $130 million a day over that stretch. A lower headline figure next week would therefore not, by itself, show new weakness.
Daily flows are the better guide. Consistent inflows while ETH holds its gains would support the demand story. Outflow days during a rising price would suggest the rally is getting ahead of real-money buying. Until then, watch the daily Farside figures alongside the price before treating ETF buying as a bullish signal.
(ETH prices are from Tuesday morning US time, but this chart below is current as of writing.)
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at investinglive.com.