Institutions besides ETFs now hold over 9% of all ETH, with ETF baskets, strategic reserves and corporate treasuries together approaching about 10% of the supply that moves on chain. This consolidation alters how much ether trades each day and how much price slips when large orders hit the book, as spot ETFs approved in 2024 let pensions, insurers and treasuries buy through a regulated wrapper without handling keys.
Strategic ETH Reserve.xyz for the breakdown: ETFs and strategic reserves equal 7.98%, and after corporate treasuries and other funds are added, the total climbs to about 10% of the supply that moves on chain.
BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) held over $15 billion in assets in September 2025, a figure that shows the scale of the inflow and the footprint of vehicles run by BlackRock, Grayscale or Fidelity.
The legal clarity that arrived with ETF approval, the hunt for yield and the need for direct exposure to the settlement layer that most DeFi protocols use.
The ETF structure removes custody friction—a billion dollar allocation executes in one day while the fund custodian holds the underlying coins and trades settle on regulated exchanges. ETF: exchange traded fund that tracks the spot price of an asset, settles trades on regulated exchanges while the fund custodian holds the underlying coins.
Market impact and trading focus for ETFs
Larger institutional bags add depth to the order book and can smooth daily swings because many buyers plan to hold for quarters, not hours. The same pile concentrates risk: if a few allocators redeem at once, the sudden release of coins can gap the market.
Traders now watch how much ether sits in ETF vaults, recalculate support and resistance after each flow report and hedge against the chance that a single day’s redemption soaks up the visible bids. Some sources set price targets of $8,000 – $10,000, but they add that the path depends on whether the largest holders keep accumulating or start to distribute.
The next figure to track is the AUM of Ethereum ETFs, especially BlackRock’s ETHA. A rising number signals fresh hoarding, while a flat or falling number warns of distribution. Traders who combine that reading with the amount of ether held on exchanges will adjust hedge ratios and position size.
