VanEck's head of digital assets research, Matthew Sigel, believes that financial institutions are preparing for the imminent launch of spot Ethereum (ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the US, despite these funds still awaiting regulatory approval.

On June 18, Sigel posted on social media that hedge funds are strategically positioning themselves in anticipation of the ETFs being approved. He noted that data from K33 Research shows a significant increase in inflows to Ether exchange-traded products (ETPs) outside the US, indicating that large investors are gearing up for the regulatory approval of spot Ethereum ETFs.

Sigel remarked:

"Hedge funds are front-running the ETH ETF approvals, ETH on exchanges is near an all-time low, and fundamentals are improving. I could be eating BBQ HODL hat by July 4th. And you’re bearish?"

Blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant supported this observation, reporting a downtrend in ETH supply on exchanges, a sign that major players are accumulating Ethereum.

In a recent interview on the Bankless podcast, Sigel described Ethereum as an "open-source App Store," suggesting it is a more versatile and productive asset compared to Bitcoin. He believes Ethereum ETFs could eventually be more successful than Bitcoin ETFs due to the broader market for income-producing assets.

Sigel said:

"Overall, there’s a bigger market for income-producing assets than for inert assets like Bitcoin (BTC). It’s not impossible that in a decade, the market for an Ethereum ETF could surpass that of Bitcoin."

He emphasized the need to educate traditional financial market participants about Ethereum's potential, highlighting its productive nature and its capability to allow anyone to create a storefront on its network at a lower cost than major tech companies.

Sigel added:

"We think of Ethereum as a productive asset that offers an open-source App Store with integrated payments functionality. We aim to elucidate the mechanics of how Ethereum works and provide a detailed analysis of its profit and loss statements."