Spot Ether ETFs See $287M Inflows as BlackRock, Fidelity See Gains

US spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) funds drew $287.6 million in net inflows on Thursday, snapping a four-day outflow streak, according to data from crypto ETF tracker SoSoValue.

The rebound follows a period of sustained outflows, with funds shedding over $924 million between Aug. 15 and Wednesday. The largest withdrawal came on Tuesday, when spot Ether (ETH) ETFs saw $429 million exit, the second-largest daily net outflow seen this month, following the $465 million that left the market on Aug. 4.

Asset manager BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) led Thursday with $233.5 million in inflows, while the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH) followed with $28.5 million. Other ETFs averaged around $6 million in net inflows for the day.

The fresh inflows lifted cumulative net inflows above $12 billion, signaling renewed investor demand after a week of withdrawals.

Spot Ether ETF inflow and outflow data in August. Source: SoSoValue

Total ETF reserves hit $27.66 billion

According to the ETH reserve tracker Strategic ETH Reserve (SER), spot Ether ETFs currently hold a combined 6.42 million ETH valued at $27.66 billion. The investment products recorded a daily net inflow of 66,350 ETH, lifting their total reserve holdings to 5.31% of Ether’s circulating supply.

Beyond ETFs, corporate treasury reserves and long-term holdings spread across major institutions have hit 4.10 million ETH, which is worth $17.66 billion. According to SER data, the holdings represent 3.39% of Ether’s supply.

Companies like SharpLink Gaming have maintained momentum with major ETH purchases. On Tuesday, the company bought $667 million in Ether at near-record highs. This lifted its overall holdings to over 740,00 ETH valued at $3.2 billion.

SharpLink is currently the second-largest ETH treasury holder next to Bitmine Immersion Tech, which has 1.5 million ETH.

*SharpLink gaming ETH treasury purchase data. Source: Strategic ETH Reserve*

Related: ETH charts predict $3.9K retest, then a 100% rally to new highs

Redditors debate whether corporate ETH purchases add real value

The concentration of ETH in major institutions sparked an online discussion among community members, with some questioning whether corporate ETH purchases add real value to the ecosystem.

On Wednesday, a Redditor started a discussion asking how ETH “hoarding” by treasury companies adds value to Ethereum, which they perceived as the backbone of decentralized finance (DeFi).

A community member said that the positive effects lie in the price impact, reducing the circulating supply. In addition, they said that the ETH purchased by institutions may also be staked, which would back the network.

Another community member disagreed, saying that there were already “more than enough” stakers in the network and that adding more doesn’t help.

The community member argued that having additional stakers from central entities also reduces decentralization, which is touted as one of the core values of the network.

Another Redditor said the ETH community needs to see this as a win, saying that it brings attention to ETH, making the asset more valuable. With ETH being up, the user claimed that DeFi utility increases as well because ETH functions as a base asset in many protocols.