It’s been a little over a month since Ether ETFs started trading in the U.S., and the numbers so far are, well, pretty interesting. Not explosive, but a steady climb that seems to be gaining some real traction. According to data from SoSoValue, inflows into these funds jumped 44% in August, moving from $9.5 billion at the start of the month to $13.7 billion by the 28th. That’s a solid, quiet build-up that suggests institutions are maybe starting to feel more comfortable here.
Corporate Treasuries Are Piling In, Too
But it’s not just the ETFs. There’s another, perhaps quieter, story developing alongside them. A growing number of companies are apparently starting to hold Ether directly in their corporate treasuries. We’ve all heard about companies doing this with Bitcoin for years, but Ether seems to be the new kid on the block for this sort of thing. A group called StrategicETHReserve tracks this, and they estimate companies now hold about 4.4 million ETH. That’s nearly 4% of the entire supply, worth something like $19 billion right now. That’s a lot of Ether just sitting on balance sheets.
One of the drivers, according to Sygnum’s Chief Investment Officer Fabian Dori, might be clearer regulation. He pointed to things like the Genius Act, which gives traditional investors a clearer framework to work within. It makes sense. Big money usually needs rules before it feels safe to play the game.
The Price Impact Is Already Noticeable
All this buying, from both ETFs and these corporate treasuries, has had a direct effect on the market. Ether’s price gained almost 27% in August. It started the month around $3,400 and closed Friday near $4,300. That’s a significant move in a single month. And the real kicker? As Geoffrey Kendrick from Standard Chartered noted, these corporate buyers aren’t likely to be sellers. They’re in it for the long haul, which could mean this buying pressure isn’t just a flash in the pan.
What’s Next for the Network Itself?
Of course, the price is one thing, but the health of the Ethereum network itself is another. Some analysts are calling this a “critical inflection point” for Ethereum’s development roadmap. There are a bunch of upgrades on the horizon, like the Pectra upgrade that happened back in May and the upcoming Fusaka hard fork scheduled for November. The goal with these is always the same: make things run smoother, handle more transactions, and just generally be more useful.
But it’s not all smooth sailing. Even with all this positive momentum, Ethereum’s fee revenue hasn’t exactly been setting records. Over the past month, it generated about $42 million in fees. Compare that to Tron, which brought in over $430 million in the same period. It’s a stark reminder that activity and value don’t always move in perfect lockstep. The ecosystem is advancing, for sure, but it still has some proving to do.