The popular arbitrage opportunity involving Grayscale's Ethereum Trust is drying up

A long-popular arbitrage opportunity in the crypto market has evaporated since the beginning of the summer, according to data compiled by The Block Research. 

The weekly premium at which Grayscale's Ethereum Trust (ETHE) trades relative to the net-asset-value (NAV) of the product has shrunk from nearly 850% in mid-June to 36% at the beginning of this week. 

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The premium presents an opportunity for some hedge funds in the crypto market to capture the spread between ETHE's premium and the NAV, as The Block reported in March. At the time, the weekly premium for the product stood above 400%. The high premium gave funds the chance to purchase ETHE from Grayscale at NAV and then — after a required lock-up period — sell into the open-market to capture the premium.

It's not exactly clear what has driven premiums down, but it can be speculated that many of the funds who made the arbitrage trade have closed their positions. It may also indicate that there is less buying pressure on the retail side. 

The weekly premium for Grayscale's GBTC product has stabilized since the beginning of the year, oscillating between 8% and 41%. 

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Frank Chaparro is Host of The Scoop podcast and Director of Special Projects. He also writes a biweekly newsletter. Chaparro started his career at Business Insider, where he specialized in the intersection of digital assets and Wall Street, market structure, and financial technology. Soon after joining Business Insider out of Fordham University, Chaparro was interviewing top finance and tech executives, including billionaire Mark Cuban, “Flash Boys” star Brad Katsuyama, Cboe Global Markets CEO Ed Tilly, and New York Stock Exchange President Tom Farley. In 2018, he become a sought after reporter in the crypto world, interviewing luminaries such as Tyler Winklevoss, the cofounder of Gemini, Jeremy Allaire, the CEO of Circle, and Fundstrat head Tom Lee. For inquiries or tips, email [email protected].