Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are now officially trading on stock exchanges, and the preliminary inflow data for the first 15 minutes of trading has been revealed by analysts.
According to Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, BitWise outperformed its competitors during the first quarter-hour of trading, recording $25.5 million in capital inflows, second only to Grayscale's Ethereum Trust, created in 2017.
Total inflows into the nine Ethereum investment vehicles reached $112 million in the first 15 minutes of trading, which is far more than traditional ETF offerings, the Bloomberg analyst claimed.
Balchunas also noted that while current inflows into Ethereum ETFs equal roughly half of the inflows witnessed on day one of the Bitcoin ETF launch, the inflows still exceeded expectations.
Buy the rumor, sell the announcement?
Despite the launch of the highly anticipated Ethereum ETF and the initial $112 million in inflows, the price of Ether has fallen since the start of the trading day.
Ether (ETH) began the day trading at roughly $3,540, before falling to a low of $3,426. It managed to regain some ground and is currently trading around $3,471.
Hot competition among ETF issuers
To attract investors, most of the nine Ethereum ETF issuers have slashed fees or eliminated them for a period, showcasing the competition among issuers.
In a July 17 Securities and Exchange Commission filing, 21Shares revealed it planned to waive fees for the first six months of trading and then levy a 0.21% management fee after the six-month timeframe.
BlackRock employed a similar fee discount structure, advertising a 0.12% initial management fee that will climb to 0.25% once one year has elapsed or the ETF reaches $2.5 billion in assets under management, whichever comes first
Bitwise leveraged a unique strategy of pledging 10% of its spot Ether profits to fund Ethereum developers in partnership with the Protocol Guild, representing over 170 Ethereum builders.