Spot Ethereum ETFs break record 19-day inflow streak with modest outflows

U.S.-based spot Ethereum ETFs saw their longest inflow streak to date come to an end on Friday, logging $2.2 million in net outflows as heightened geopolitical tensions led to a broad market downturn.

The ETFs had seen 19 straight days of net positive inflows, beating the previous 18-day streak from late November to mid-December 2024, before Friday's reversal. Only two funds logged significant movement on Friday, according to SoSoValue data : Grayscale's Ethereum Mini Trust (ETH) logged $6.7 million in inflows, which was offset by Fidelity's Ethereum Fund (FETH) shedding $8.9 million. 

The inflow streak for spot ETH ETFs, which began on May 16, was marked by robust demand, including several days where the inflows outpaced those of spot Bitcoin ETFs. The streak brought the ETFs to their highest cumulative inflow value since the funds' launch in July of 2024; the funds now hold just over $10 billion in total net asset value. 

However, rising geopolitical tension in the Middle East, with Israel and Iran trading rocket fire, sent crypto markets downwards on Friday as investors fled risk assets, putting an end to the inflow streak and sparking $1.1 billion in crypto liquidations . The price of ETH is down about 8% over the past 48 hours, according to The Block's Ethereum Price page . 

One player helping to power ETH's rise is SharpLink gaming, which became the second-largest individual holder of ETH behind the Ethereum Foundation on Friday by purchasing $463 million worth of the cryptocurrency as part of an effort to grow its treasury strategy. Shares remained flat on Friday following the stock's 70% drop linked to a recent SEC filing from the company. 

BTC ETFs reach new peak

Despite the price of Bitcoin dropping around 2% in the past 48 hours, spot Bitcoin ETFs logged $301.6 million worth of inflows on Friday, sending the funds to a new cumulative total net inflow peak of $45.6 billion, according to SoSoValue data . 

The inflows were led by industry leader BlackRock's IBIT fund, which logged $239.0 million worth of inflows on Friday. Fidelity's FBTC fund saw $25.2 million, with four other funds seeing less than $15 million in inflows. 

“Risk assets are experiencing classic flight-to-safety selling while commodities and safe havens surge,” Marcin Kazmierczak, Co-founder and COO at RedStone, told The Block Friday. “For now, volatility is the only certainty,” Kazmierczak added, referencing the escalating Middle East conflict.