Over $3 Billion in Ether Withdrawn From Exchanges Post-ETF Approval, Signaling Potential Supply Squeeze

Since the approval of spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States on May 23, more than $3 billion worth of Ether has been removed from

Following the approval of spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States on May 23, over $3 billion in Ether has exited centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, signaling a potential impending supply squeeze.

According to data from CryptoQuant (via Cointelegraph), around 797,000 Ether were withdrawn from exchanges over May 23-June 2, equating to $3.02 billion.

This exchange outflow signifies a diminished quantity of coins available for purchase as investors proceed to移出 their coins from exchanges to self-custody for purposes beyond immediate trade.

Highlighting the significance of this exchange outflow, BTC-ECHO analyst Leon Waidmann, using Glassnode data, reported that the proportion of circulating Ether supply on exchanges has also dropped to its lowest levels in years, at a mere 10.6%.

Meanwhile, as reported by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas on May 30, Ether ETFs are now anticipated to launch by late June, with some analysts expressing optimism.

Due to heightened demand pressure, analysts anticipate that Ether may surpass its all-time high of $4,870 from November 2021 once spot Ether ETFs begin trading, in a scenario comparable to Bitcoin following the January launch of spot Bitcoin ETFs.

Highlighting Ether's Favorable Demand Dynamics, a May 28 report by DeFi crypto analyst Michael Nadeau suggests that Ether may be facing greater demand pressures than Bitcoin due to the absence of comparable “structural sell pressure.”

This demand pressure is attributed to the fact that, unlike Bitcoin miners who may need to sell BTC to cover mining costs, Ethereum validators do not incur substantial operating expenses.

However, concerns remain regarding the potential impact of Grayscale's Ethereum Trust (ETHE), which holds over $11 billion in assets, on the price movement of Ether. This arises from the possibility of Grayscale distributing funds in a manner that mirrors the $6.5 billion disbursement during the first month following its approval, as was the case with the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) (CoinDesk).

At the time of writing, Ether is trading at $3,781, down 0.82% over the past 24 hours and roughly 23% from its all-time high, according to CoinMarketCap.