Ether slid to a two-month low after a sharp reversal in Ethereum ETF flows wiped out the support that had pushed it above $2,400 earlier in May. The token fell back below $2,000 as investors pulled money from spot funds and broader market pressure deepened the selloff.
That shift is why traders are watching Fidelity ETF products now. BlackRock's ETHA and Fidelity's FETH had been among the main beneficiaries of inflows in April and early May, when institutional demand and optimism around Ethereum's Pectra upgrade helped lift Ether. But sentiment turned quickly in the second half of May after escalating tensions in the Middle East hit risk assets across crypto markets.
By the time the month ended, the numbers told the story. Some estimates put cumulative net outflows from US spot Ethereum ETFs at more than $2.4 billion in May, while other market data showed more than $400 million leaving the products in the final weeks alone. Those redemptions mattered because issuers must hold underlying Ether to back newly issued shares, so weaker demand for the funds translates into less buying pressure for the token itself.
The reversal also exposed a bigger problem for Ether relative to Bitcoin. Institutional flows continued to favor Bitcoin, adding to Ethereum's underperformance against its larger rival just as rising Treasury yields, geopolitical uncertainty and expectations that interest rates may stay elevated longer pushed investors further toward caution. Even with strong long-term network fundamentals, including staking activity, stablecoin usage, tokenisation efforts and broader institutional adoption, the near-term flow picture has turned against Ether.
What happens next depends on whether those outflows ease in early June or continue to drain demand from the ETF complex. Until that changes, Ether is likely to remain vulnerable to the same mix of macro pressure and fund redemptions that sent it to its latest low.
