Ethereum News Today: "Institutional Capital Flees Ethereum ETFs as Bitcoin Dominates $931M Inflow Surge"

Ethereum's price dipped below $3,720 on October 24, 2025, as whale activity and growing exchange outflows signaled shifting investor sentiment in the crypto market, according to a a GuruFocus report. The decline coincided with a surge in Bitcoin inflows, with the top cryptocurrency attracting $931 million in net inflows over the past week, driven by renewed optimism over U.S. inflation data and rising expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts, the report added. Meanwhile, Ethereum ETFs faced their first outflows in five weeks, recording $168.7 million in redemptions, the GuruFocus piece noted.

The divergence in investor behavior highlighted Bitcoin's continued dominance in institutional capital flows. Bitcoin ETFs attracted $446 million in inflows last week, with BlackRock's and Fidelity's products leading the charge, per a TradingView piece. By contrast, Ethereum ETFs saw a two-week outflow streak, totaling $555 million in redemptions, led by Fidelity's FETH and BlackRock's ETHA, according to a Crypto.news report. The outflows marked the first back-to-back negative week for Ether ETFs since April, signaling cooling demand amid macroeconomic uncertainty, the Crypto.news piece added.

Market analysts attributed the shift to broader macroeconomic factors. Softer U.S. inflation data, which showed headline CPI rising to 3.0% in September while core inflation eased to 3.0%, boosted hopes for rate cuts and rekindled risk appetite, the GuruFocus report noted. However, Ethereum's price struggled to regain traction after sharp declines earlier in October, exacerbated by risk-off sentiment and anticipation of key economic data releases, the Crypto.news coverage said. The Federal Reserve's recent comments suggesting the 25-basis-point rate cut in October might be the last of 2025 further added volatility to crypto markets, according to a Coinpedia article.

Institutional demand for Bitcoin also surged, with iShares ETFs and Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund contributing $287 million in inflows, the GuruFocus piece reported. Bitcoin's total assets under management (AUM) climbed to $178.2 billion, while Ethereum's AUM fell to $35.23 billion, the same report added. DeLeion Capital, a digital asset management firm, capitalized on the momentum by unveiling a new Ethereum-focused strategy emphasizing stable growth through a hybrid custody model, per a GlobeNewswire release. The release cited Ethereum's 7.4% rise in trading volume and its recent break above $3,900 as signs of renewed institutional confidence.

Ethereum's network activity, however, showed resilience. Daily transactions hit 1.6 million, a near-month high, while gas fees remained near historic lows at $0.01 per transaction, driven by post-Dencun and Pectra upgrades, according to a Cointelegraph report. Despite the price dip, Ethereum's low fees and scalable infrastructure reinforced its appeal for real-world use cases, the Cointelegraph piece noted.

Looking ahead, market participants remain cautious. Ethereum's price must reclaim the $4,200 level to confirm a bullish reversal, while Bitcoin faces profit-taking risks as it tests $118,000 resistance, a Benzinga write-up said. Analysts at 1kx projected $19.8 billion in onchain fees for 2025, with application-layer fees surging 126% year-over-year, according to a 1kx report. The report underscored the growing diversification of crypto revenue streams, with DeFi protocols and wallets capturing significant shares.