Key Takeaways
- Ether is down more than 7% Thursday and bitcoin briefly dipped below $64,000 before recovering somewhat.
- Spot ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) posted $133.3 million of outflows in Day 2 of trading Wednesday, while the spot bitcoin ETFs had $44.5 million of inflows.
- Publicly traded bitcoin miner Marathon purchased $100 million worth of bitcoin.
- Hashdex took another step toward launching a combined bitcoin and ether ETF.
Bitcoin (BTC) dipped below $64,000 early Thursday before recovering to trade slightly above $65,000. Ether (ETH) prices fell more than 7% as investors continued to pull money of of Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust (ETHE).
Grayscale’s Ether ETF Outflows Weigh on Ether Price
After a strong Day 1 with $106.6 million of net inflows overall, spot ether ETFs on Wednesday experienced their first day of net outflows thanks to the $326.9 million that left the preexisting Grayscale product. This brings cumulative two-day outflows for Grayscale’s ETHE to $811 million.
These outflows from the Grayscale fund are expected to continue over the near term, as investors switch to cheaper ETF offerings or simply leave the market.
In total, outflows for spot ether ETFs were $133.3 million on Wednesday, according to Farside Investors. The Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) had the strongest day among the spot ether ETFs, with $74.5 million of inflows.
Other Crypto ETF News
On the bitcoin side of the spot crypto ETF market, there were $44.5 million in inflows Wednesday, according to Farside Investors.
Crypto asset manager Hashdex took another step toward the eventual launch of its proposed Hashdex Nasdaq Crypto Index US ETF with the filing of its S-1 registration form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The proposed ETF would start with combined holdings of spot bitcoin and ether, in addition to potentially adding other crypto assets as they gain regulatory approval over time.
Marathon Digital Doubles Down on Bitcoin
Shares of bitcoin miner Marathon Digital Holdings (MARA) rose Thursday after it announced a $100 million bitcoin purchase. The company not only added to the stash of bitcoin on its books, it also committed to revert to its previous policy of “full HODL,” a crypto term for “hold on for dear life,” with all the bitcoin it mines going forward.