Ether demand heats up as ETF inflows approach $700 million

Ether (ETH/USD) has extended its recent rally as demand from institutional investors continues to strengthen. US spot ether ETFs attracted almost $690 million in net inflows last week, marking a sharp turnaround from the outflows seen earlier in September and adding fresh support to the world's second-largest cryptocurrency.

The strength of those flows is notable because the buying has been spread across several consecutive sessions. Spot ether ETFs recorded inflows of $270 million on 21 September, followed by another $162 million the next day, with positive flows continuing through the remainder of the week. That suggests interest has been more persistent than a single-day surge in demand.

Corporate accumulation is adding another layer to the story. BitMine Immersion Technologies reported last week that its ether holdings had reached 5.98 million tokens, representing approximately 4.9% of the cryptocurrency's total supply. The company added more than 27,000 ETH during the week, bringing it close to its stated goal of owning 5% of the total supply.

Spot demand gives the Ether rally a stronger base

The nature of the recent buying is also important. The trigger points to declining futures open interest and lower leverage, suggesting that the rally is relying less heavily on traders borrowing money to increase their positions.

If that trend continues, it would distinguish the current move from rallies driven primarily by leveraged speculation. Strong ETF inflows and corporate purchases represent direct demand for Ether, while lower leverage can reduce some of the risk created when heavily borrowed positions are forced to unwind during sudden market moves.

That does not remove volatility from the picture. Crypto markets remain highly sensitive to broader risk sentiment, expectations for Federal Reserve policy and changes in institutional demand. The recent ETF numbers are strong, but September itself has already shown how quickly flows can reverse: US spot ether ETFs recorded more than $220 million in net outflows on 16 September before returning to positive territory later in the month.

Ethereum upgrade puts network development back in focus

Attention is also beginning to turn towards Ethereum's next major network upgrade. Glamsterdam is currently being tested and is expected to reach Ethereum's mainnet in the fourth quarter, although an exact date has not yet been confirmed. Its next major milestone is the Sepolia testnet fork scheduled for 6 October.

The upgrade is designed to improve how Ethereum processes transactions and manages data as activity on the network grows. For markets, progress towards a successful launch could bring Ethereum's underlying technology back into focus alongside the institutional demand currently supporting sentiment.