Ethereum News Today: Institutional Bets Bolster Ethereum Amid Record Unstaking Pressure

Spot Ether ETFs posted $197 million in outflows on Monday, marking the second-largest outflow since their launch, according to data from SoSoValue. The outflows followed $59 million in losses on Friday, bringing the two-day total to $256 million. While these figures reflect a recent shift in investor behavior, they remain modest compared to the record $3.7 billion inflow streak over the previous eight trading days, when some single-day inflows exceeded $1 billion.

BlackRock and Fidelity were among the largest issuers to see significant outflows on Monday, with BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA) recording $87 million in outflows, and Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund (FETH) experiencing $79 million in outflows. On Friday alone, FETH saw $272 million in outflows, contributing heavily to the broader trend. As of August 15, ETHA held approximately 3.6 million ETH, valued at $15.8 billion. By Monday, the fund’s holdings had declined by 1.5% to $15.6 billion, coinciding with a 6.5% drop in the price of Ethereum, as reported by CoinGecko.

The outflows align with a record surge in the Ethereum unstaking queue, which reached 910,000 ETH, valued at approximately $3.9 billion, according to ValidatorQueue. Validators now face a wait time of at least 15 days and 14 hours to unstake their tokens. Analysts warn that the growing unstaking activity could contribute to a “unstakening” event, where increased supply pressure may further depress Ethereum’s price. Prominent crypto commentator Samson Mow has expressed concerns, noting that the ratio of ETH to BTC could potentially fall below 0.03, a level not seen in recent years.

Despite these challenges, Ether ETFs have seen a recent shift in investor sentiment relative to Bitcoin ETFs. As of August 18, the percentage of Ethereum supply held in ETFs stood at 5%, compared to 6.4% for Bitcoin, according to data from Hildobby at Dragonfly. An analyst forecasted that, if current trends continue, Ether ETFs could surpass Bitcoin ETFs in the percentage of total supply held by September. This shift reflects a broader investor appetite for Ethereum-based products amid the altcoin’s recent price performance and technical developments.

Ethereum’s staking ecosystem has also seen a significant movement of assets. Over $3.7 billion worth of ETH—equivalent to 877,000 tokens—has entered the unstaking queue, according to validator tracking data. However, institutional accumulation via ETFs has absorbed much of the potential sell pressure. Strategic treasuries and spot ETH ETFs have increased holdings by 140% since May 1, now controlling over 10 million ETH. This institutional interest may provide some support to Ethereum’s price amid ongoing market uncertainties and macroeconomic pressures.

Source: [1] Spot Ether ETFs See $197M Outflows, Second-Largest Ever (https://cointelegraph.com/news/ether-etfs-197m-outflows-second-largest)

[2] Crypto Funds Post $3.75B Inflows Driven By Ether ETFs (https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-funds-inflows-3-75-billion-ether-etf-trading-volume-record)

[3] Billions in Ethereum Waiting to Be Unstaked Could Add Sell ... (https://finance.yahoo.com/news/billions-ethereum-waiting-unstaked-could-130003322.html)

[4] Ethereum Faces Sell Pressure From Record Unstaking ... (https://coinmarketcap.com/academy/article/ethereum-faces-sell-pressure-from-record-unstaking-queue)

[5] Buy this ETH-based altcoin as ETH unstaking queue hits ... (https://invezz.com/news/2025/08/19/buy-this-eth-based-altcoin-as-eth-unstaking-queue-hits-3-8b/)