Analysts at JPMorgan Chase (JPM) say that investor demand for spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is likely to be weaker than for similar Bitcoin (BTC) funds.
In a research report, JPMorgan said that it expects a new crop of spot Ethereum ETFs to attract as much as $3 billion U.S. of investor capital this year.
By comparison, more than $20 billion U.S. has flowed into a dozen spot Bitcoin ETFs since those investment vehicles were approved by American regulators in January of this year.
“Bitcoin had the first mover advantage, potentially saturating the overall demand for crypto assets in response to spot ETF approvals,” wrote JPMorgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou in a report on Ethereum ETFs.
Earlier in May, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) effectively approved Ethereum ETFs, which are expected to launch in June of this year.
JPMorgan said that the Bitcoin halving event in April of this year was also a catalyst for spot Bitcoin ETFs, and that no similar catalyst exists for Ethereum.
Finally, analysts at the bank said that Bitcoin has a broader appeal to investors because it competes with gold in portfolio allocations, and that lower liquidity is likely to make Ethereum's spot ETFs less attractive to institutional investors.
The price of Ethereum has risen 62% so far in 2024 and currently trades at $3,800 U.S. per digital token.
Bitcoin’s price is up 55% on the year and at $68,350 U.S. presently.
