Ether spot ETF inflows will push ETH to beyond $5K: Bitwise

The launch of spot Ether (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S., expected to occur next week, will push the price of the second largest cryptocurrency to all-time highs above $5,000, Bitwise said.

It may not happen immediately and price action may be choppy to start, due to money flowing out of the $11 billion Grayscale Ethereum Trust (ETHE), after it converts to an ETF, Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan wrote in a report on Tuesday.

Still, “by year-end, I'm confident the new highs will be in,” Hougan wrote, “and if flows are stronger than many market commentators expect, the price could be much higher still.”

Bitwise notes that bitcoin (BTC) has risen about 25% since the launch of spot ETFs in the U.S. in January, and more than 110% since the market began pricing in a potential launch in October last year.

The money flowing into new ether spot ETFs will have a larger impact than it did for bitcoin for three structural reasons, Bitwise said. Ether’s short-term inflation rate is 0% and when bitcoin versions launched the network’s inflation rate was 1.7%, so there is significant demand meeting zero supply. Unlike bitcoin miners ETH stakers don’t have to sell, and 28% of ETH is staked and therefore off the market.

Ether spot ETFs are expected to be a success and garner $15 billion of net inflows in their first 18 months of trading, the report added.

Steno Research expressed a similarly bullish outlook for the cryptocurrency in a report last month. It predicted that ether would reach at least $6,500 later this year due to expected inflows to spot ETFs, plus additional tailwinds.