'Ethereum Stole the Show': ETH Funds Trump Bitcoin ETF Gains

Investors last week saw a buying opportunity for Ethereum, and threw more cash at funds built around the second-largest cryptocurrency than those for Bitcoin. What’s more, it’s the first time this year that weekly deposits into Ethereum-based funds have outpaced those into BTC products. 

Data from European asset manager CoinShares shows that speculators pumped $793 million into Ethereum-related investment products worldwide, last week.

CoinShares said that “Ethereum stole the show,” when investors saw a buying opportunity after the coin’s price dropped to nearly $2,100.

Some investors may have been motivated by a tweet from Eric Trump, the son of President Donald Trump, who wrote last Monday, "In my opinion, it’s a great time to add ETH." The tweet earned some 13.6 million views. The original version of the tweet, which Trump edited, also included the sentence, "You can thank me later."

ETH is now trading for $2,670, CoinGecko shows. The asset has struggled to break to new highs, despite the launch of new American ETH exchange-traded funds last July. It is currently trading 45% below its November 2021 record price of $4,878. 

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has experienced huge amounts of new capital thanks to the spot ETFs approved one year ago. As a result, the price of BTC has hit new records—especially following the election of Donald Trump in November. The new U.S. leader has promised to help the digital assets industry. 

Last week, though, Bitcoin-related funds only received $407 million in net inflows. President Trump’s threat of tariffs spooked investors across most asset classes—and crypto was no different.

Meanwhile investors eyed up top altcoins XRP and Solana, throwing $21 million and $11 million, respectively, at funds giving exposure to the cryptocurrencies, CoinShares said.  

ETH has had quite the turnaround in investor sentiment: Last week, funds giving exposure to the coin received net flows of zero. 

Will a change in crypto investors’ hearts lead to new records for the coin itself? Or will this prove to be a one-time fluke, given how dominant Bitcoin has been in the crypto ETF space? Stay tuned.

Edited by Stacy Elliott