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Ethereum spot ETFs dip into the red again, but treasury firms are still buying

BitMine acquired $320 million worth of ethereum, while SharpLink Gaming received $78 million from FalconX.

Sage D. Young

The price of ethereum broke past the $4,200 mark for the first time in two weeks on Monday, but last week spot ethereum ETFs had a rough time, with $248.9 million in outflows. Even though it’s the second week in a row in the red, overall flows for ethereum ETFs remain positive for the month, at nearly $554 million, per SoSoValue.

The price action comes as digital asset treasury firms focused on ethereum continue to enlarge their reserves. Monday morning, BitMine Immersion Technologies, the largest ethereum treasury firm, announced purchasing an additional $320 million worth, bringing its holdings to 3.3 million tokens or 2.8% of the total supply, according to its press release

Elsewhere, on-chain data shows the second-largest ethereum treasury company, SharpLink Gaming, received $78 million in ethereum in one transaction from crypto trading firm FalconX.

Also adding to its treasury, Japanese firm Quantum Solutions acquired 500 ethereum tokens, CEO Francis B. Zhou announced

Jim Hwang, COO of crypto investment firm Firinne Capital, told Sherwood News the activity doesn’t affect their outlook on ethereum since they are focused on fundamental activities that enable value accrual, not shorter-term investor preferences. He said, however, “It is good to see that [digital asset treasury] activities demonstrate a long-term commitment to ETH.”

Even though geopolitical and tariff concerns fuel volatility, Hwang’s outlook for ethereum is “directionally higher as institutional adoption, generally positive US legislative momentum, and expectations of easing interest rates are providing tailwinds.”

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$1.2B

XRP ETFs have now crossed $1 billion in assets since the funds launched, according to SoSoValue, which shows total assets of $1.18 billion.

In September, the SEC approved generic listing standards, which paved the way for speedier listings and opened the floodgates for these products, and shortly after, Rex-Osprey launched the first spot XRP ETF available in the US.

Canary followed suit in November, launching an ETF trading on the Nasdaq under the ticker XRPC, which saw a record $58.5 million in trading volume on its first day. It’s the largest XRP ETF in the US, with $342 million in assets.

Grayscale, Bitwise, and Franklin Templeton also launched their own XRP ETFs in November. On December 11, 21Shares joined the XRP fund party.

It’s a noteworthy green shoot in the crypto space, as bitcoin and its ETFs have struggled, and XRP itself is down nearly 15% over the past month.

Jake Hanley, managing director and senior portfolio specialist at Teucrium Investment Advisors — which launched the first-ever XRP-based ETF in April, the 2x Long Daily XRP ETF — told Sherwood News that he is not surprised to see this level of interest in the XRP ETFs.

“We have long held that XRP and the Ripple ecosystem present a unique investment case among crypto assets. Crossing the $1 billion mark is yet another signal of the significant vote of confidence investors have in this increasingly important asset and ecosystem,” Hanley said.

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New bitcoin AfterDark ETF will be bitcoin at night, Treasurys by day

Tidal Trust II submitted form N-1A with the SEC to register a bitcoin ETF designed to systemically capture the cryptocurrency’s overnight return profile, a time window that delivered a significant portion of bitcoin’s upside last year.

The Nicholas Bitcoin and Treasuries AfterDark ETF provides long bitcoin exposure during US overnight hours, from the closing bell until the following morning’s market open, when the fund intends to unwind its positions, according to a document filed with the SEC on Tuesday. 

To gain that exposure, the ETF may use a number of methods, including bitcoin futures contracts, US-listed ETFs, or exchange-traded options on such bitcoin underlying funds. When the market is open and daytime trading is active, the fund’s portfolio will consist of US Treasury securities and other cash equivalents. 

In 2024, most of bitcoin’s gains occurred after-hours, senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas reported:

The AfterDark ETF filing comes as bitcoin crossed $94,000 on Tuesday, rising 4.5% in the last 24 hours. Even though spot bitcoin ETFs saw nearly $60.5 million in outflows on Monday, the investment vehicles have a cumulative net inflow of $57.6 billion, per SoSoValue.

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