Ethereum has rebounded roughly 6% this week and tested resistance around $2,439 after a difficult October, but the latest fund-flow data complicates the argument that the recovery is occurring without ETF demand. According to Farside Investors’ daily Ethereum ETF data, U.S. spot Ether ETFs recorded $53 million in net inflows on November 4, reversing seven consecutive trading sessions of withdrawals. The move followed $85.3 million of outflows on November 3 and $139.7 million on November 2.
The positive session does not erase October’s deterioration. U.S. Ether ETFs lost approximately $1.607 billion across the month, their largest monthly net outflow since launching in July 2024. October represented a substantial reversal in fund demand even though the month contained three positive sessions rather than an uninterrupted 23-day outflow streak. The earlier record $1.61 billion October withdrawal followed three positive months that had generated roughly $3.05 billion in combined inflows.
ETF Demand Returns After a Difficult October
Farside recorded October inflows of $24.8 million on October 13, $14.9 million on October 21 and $4.4 million on October 23. The remaining sessions were negative, with the final five trading days alone producing approximately $431 million in withdrawals. The stronger conclusion is therefore that Ethereum ETFs experienced overwhelmingly negative October flows, not that investors failed to generate a single positive session.
The November 4 reversal was led by BlackRock’s ETHA with $32.8 million and Fidelity’s FETH with $19.2 million, while other products produced smaller positive and negative flows. The result follows an earlier period when Ether ETFs led $548 million in weekly crypto-fund withdrawals. One $53 million inflow does not yet establish a durable reversal, but it breaks the immediate sequence of redemptions and weakens the claim that ETF demand has completely disappeared.
ETF flows should also be interpreted narrowly. Net creations and redemptions measure capital moving into and out of the products, but they do not identify whether the beneficial owners are institutions, advisers or other investors. Ethereum ETFs have previously moved sharply in the opposite direction, including a 12-session inflow streak that accumulated approximately $1.62 billion. Changes in ETF flows establish demand for the investment wrappers, not the identity or motivation of the investors behind them.
Mainnet Activity Remains Below Spring Levels
Network activity presents a separate source of caution. Glassnode data cited in recent market analysis placed Ethereum’s 14-day moving average of active addresses near 365,000 on October 17, its lowest level since December 2025, before recovering toward 375,000. That remains roughly 25% to 30% below the 500,000 to 550,000 range observed during the spring.
The metric has important limitations. Active addresses are not equivalent to unique people, and the series measures Ethereum mainnet rather than the broader activity occurring across Layer 2 networks. Falling mainnet addresses therefore cannot establish an equivalent decline in total Ethereum ecosystem usage. What the data directly shows is weaker L1 address activity during a period when Ether’s price and regulated investment products have moved independently of that metric.
The macro backdrop remains restrictive as well. The Federal Reserve raised its target range by 25 basis points on September 16 to 3.75%–4.00%, citing elevated inflation. Higher short-term rates raise the opportunity cost of holding risk assets, but they do not by themselves explain Ethereum’s price or ETF flows, which also reflect crypto-specific positioning, derivatives activity and broader market liquidity.
Ethereum’s latest rebound therefore comes against mixed rather than uniformly weak demand signals. October delivered a record ETF withdrawal and mainnet active-address activity remains subdued, while November 4 produced the first positive ETF session after seven consecutive outflow days. The immediate question is whether the $53 million inflow develops into a sustained series of net creations or remains a single positive session inside a broader period of weak fund demand.
