Ethereum attracts record ETF inflows and 39% fee drop in Q2, supporting stronger outlook for Q3

Ethereum (ETH) registered significant improvements in the second quarter, including increased inflows of exchange-traded funds (ETFs), layer-2 activity, and liquidity, which enhance the prospects for the third quarter.

According to the “Charting Crypto Q3 2025” report by Coinbase and Glassnode, US-traded spot Ethereum ETFs captured $1.7 billion in net inflows last quarter, overturning the prior period’s outflows.

Institutional flows flip positive

Furthermore, layer‑2 throughput climbed 7%, while average user fees dropped 39%. This was followed by an 8% increase in liquid supply, while long‑dormant balances shrank 6%.

As a result of the improvements seen last quarter, the share of ETH held at a profit increased from under 40% to nearly 90%. Additionally, the total value locked on Ethereum reached $ 63.2 billion.

The improvements are also registered in the derivatives market, where daily perpetual futures turnover averaged $51.4 billion, up 56% quarter‑over‑quarter.

Aggregate inflows erased a first‑quarter $200 million leak and restored momentum for managers positioning ETH as the market’s second large‑cap crypto.

Futures open interest totaled $14.5 billion on June 30 despite a 6.9% quarterly pullback, highlighting deeper liquidity across regulated venues.

Meanwhile, options open interest stood at $ 5.3 billion, with derivatives desks also logging an 11% uptick in term‑futures volume, signaling growing hedging appetite.

Network activity and economics

Developers and users benefited from a 39% decline in base layer fees as rollups absorbed more transactions, sharpening the economics of on‑chain application deployment.

At the same time, Ethereum’s inflation rate remained modest, at approximately 0.75% annualized. This cushioned long-term supply pressure.

Staked ETH continued to climb, and the report plotted both total staked value and the associated annual yield among its core fundamentals tables.

On-chain analytics show that holders used the second-quarter price recovery to reposition. Liquid coins, defined as those moved within 90 days, rose 8%, whereas coins untouched for more than a year fell 6%.

This indicated controlled profit‑taking rather than wholesale distribution. ETH’s Net Unrealized Profit/Loss flipped from capitulation to optimism between the first and second quarters, aligning with market‑cycle models that track investor sentiment shifts.

The pool of coins sitting below cost plummeted from more than 40 million to fewer than 10 million over the same period.

DeFi collateral base and market share

Ethereum’s $63 billion total value locked (TVL) in the DeFi ecosystem is spread across lending, decentralized exchanges, and yield farming protocols.

Ether also expanded its slice of total crypto market capitalization alongside Bitcoin and Solana as investors rotated toward perceived blue‑chip assets.

Perpetual swap funding rates, tracked alongside Bitcoin and Solana, remained neutral to positive through late June, suggesting balanced speculative positioning rather than froth.

However, the report cautioned that sustained ETF inflows and favorable fee conditions must persist to maintain the second-quarter constructive backdrop.

Nevertheless, it noted that Ethereum now enters the third quarter with stronger institutional sponsorship, lower transaction costs, and a healthier on-chain profit profile.