Spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) would have fared better if they had launched alongside Bitcoin ETFs in January, says the executive leading Bitstamp’s efforts in the United States. 

“I think they have not lived up to expectations, but I attribute that to this moment in time,” Bitstamp CEO for the Americas and global commercial chief Bobby Zagotta told Cointelegraph at TOKEN2049.

“Crypto is behaving like any other risk asset right now, which is a testament to the maturity of this market versus a year ago, two years ago even.” 

Bitcoin ( BTC ) ETFs launched on Jan. 10, 2024, and accumulated net inflows of $17.5 billion over the course of eight months, according to CoinGlass data . 

Ethereum ETFs would’ve ‘done better’ if launched in January: Bitstamp exec image 0

Daily Bitcoin inflows and outflows since launch. Source: CoinGlass

Ether ( ETH ) ETFs began trading seven months after in July and have seen just over $600 million in net outflows in the two months since.

“The [Ether] ETFs just launched at kind of a, call it a burdened moment, or the markets in general for risk assets,” Zagotta remarked. 

“In this moment, poeple are waiting. I think they’re in the wait-and-see mode because of the uncertainty in the election, the regulatory stuff in the US, some of the sociopolitical stuff — everything is a little bit flat right now, relatively speaking.”

“So I think that affected the ETF launch. Had the Ether ETF launched when the Bitcoin ETF launched, I think it would have done better,” he said. 

Across the Ether ETFs’ 38 trading days, less than a third of them ended in a positive net inflow , mainly due to continued bleeding from Grayscale’s Ethereum Trust and relatively low performance across all other ETFs, data from Farside Investors shows. 

“Ethereum is more challenged now than ever before because of other alternatives that are getting a great amount of traction,” added Zagotta. 

“Now, they’re not at the Ethereum level yet in terms of application and volume and price, but you know, Solana, some of these protocols are getting a lot of attention,” he said, adding: 

“There’s no question that this is the most competitive it's been for Ethereum ever.”

However, Zagota said there could be light for Ether at the end of the year.

“I do personally believe that we’re heading toward a moment of clarity. Election, interest rates, hopefully, regulatory momentum in the US,” he added.

Related: 3 reasons why Ethereum price has lagged behind Bitcoin in 2024

Zagota sees the fourth quarter as an “active market” and is cautiously optimistic about some “real price action,” including in the altcoin space. 

Former Wall Street trader Nick Forster told Cointelegraph earlier this month that Ether would have a slim chance of hitting new all-time highs by the end of 2024, as the asset has struggled to carve out a narrative and steal appeal from tech stocks. 

Though some remain optimistic, a rally for Ether, as well as altcoins, could be just around the corner. 

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