Ethereum ETFs came too soon

Speaking at the European Blockchain Convention, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan expressed confidence that ethereum spot ETFs will succeed despite a slow start.

ethereum (eth) exchange-traded funds may have been launched too early, Hougan was heard saying by crypto.news during a EBC Panel On September 25 in Barcelona, ​​Spain, the Bitwise executive noted that Wall Street market players were still acclimating to the bitcoin (btc) message, when eth spot ETFs debuted.

If we had waited another year, they would have raised five times more assets. It takes a long time for people to digest bitcoin and be ready for what's coming.

Matt Hougan, IT Director at Bitwise

ETFs tracking the spot price of Ether were launched in late July, more than five months after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved similar bitcoin-backed products in January. Issuers have applied for options on these products, but the SEC has only approved options for BlackRock’s btc spot ETF. The SEC delayed its ruling on options for eth spot ETFs until November.

According to some market participants, fund outflows, mostly from Grayscale’s eth funds, have hampered the success of spot Ether ETFs. However, Bitwise’s Hougan offered a different view, suggesting that ethereum ETFs will inevitably attract traditional financial investors.

It's a more complex message, and they were still getting their hands on bitcoin. But it will happen. We'll wake up a year from now, there will be $20 billion worth of ethereum ETFs in the US, and everyone will say, “Wow, I thought these were a failure.” No, they weren't a failure. These ETFs just take a while.

At the time of writing, the ethereum ETF complex has seen over $624 million in net outflows. The group, led by asset management giant BlackRock, had just over $7.2 billion in assets at $10 trillion.

Hougan expects the improving Ether spot ETF numbers to align with a resurgence of the eth narrative. While bitcoin has thrived under the “digital gold” narrative and Solana has gained attention for its fast transactions, ethereum has lagged behind, according to Hougan.

But that will end. I think the market is coming back to support ethereum, but it has taken some time.

ethereum has surged 14% over the past week and has returned to above $2,600. Some experts speculate that the second-largest cryptocurrency could experience a bullish fourth quarter, boosted by the Federal Reserve's rate cuts and renewed optimism in the virtual currency market.