As the crypto market awaits a regulatory greenlight on spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs), analysts have spotted an Ether whale withdrawing 16,449 ETH worth roughly $50.3 million from the world’s largest exchange, Binance.
On-chain analytics firm Spot On Chain observed that the transfer marks the whale’s first massive accumulation of Ether, as the whole stockpile was moved to a new wallet address.
Are Ether Whales Accumulating?
The timing of the withdrawal by the ETH whale is significant, with spot Ether ETFs expected to launch in the United States in the next week. Though the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave the regulatory nod to key filings for spot Ethereum ETFs in May, the regulator still needs to approve S-1 registration forms from eight asset managers. Previously, SEC Chair Gensler said the approval process depends on asset managers’ abilities to submit full disclosures.
In the X post, Spot On Chain suggested the withdrawal is a bullish sign for Ethereum. The listings of ETH-based ETFs on U.S. exchanges are anticipated to boost institutional demand and investment in the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, potentially propelling its price higher. According to crypto insiders, the spot Ether ETFs could attract up to $15 billion in inflows in the first 18 months of trading — approximately the same amount that the spot Bitcoin ETFs have drawn in since going live in January.
This comes as asset management firms, including 21Shares, Fidelity, Grayscale, VanEck, Bitwise, Invesco, and Galaxy, all recently amended their S-1 registrations with the SEC in filings.
The SEC’s approval process for Ether ETFs has been slower than initially predicted. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart noted on X (formerly known as Twitter), “We’re thinking these things could potentially list later next week or the week of the 15th at this point.”
Wen ETF?
Notably, an Ether ETF fee war has begun ahead of the expected launch of spot ETH ETFs. Invesco and Galaxy will charge users a 0.25% management fee on its proposed ETF. This is just slightly higher than VanEck’s 0.20%, which was disclosed last month.
Bitwise’s chief compliance officer Katherine Dowling notes there is no firm timeline for the ETH ETFs approval. However, she notes that the products are “close to the finish line” as “fewer and fewer” issues in the S-1 documents are being pushed back and forth between the SEC and would-be ETF providers.
“We’re seeing in the S-1 amendments that there are fewer and fewer issues that are being vetted back and forth between issuers and the SEC,” Dowling said during a July 9 interview with Bloomberg.
“So that points all signs in the direction that we are close. We’re close to the finish line on the launch.”
After shedding roughly 20% of its value in the four weeks to July 5, the ETH price finally bounced back above the crucial $3,000 mark on Monday. At press time, Ether costs $3,105, marking a 1% gain on the day.
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