Asset manager Fidelity bought $28.6 million worth of ethereum last week. It was its biggest weekly purchase in two months.

U.Today, a blockchain media outlet, reported on June 10 that the buying is drawing market attention as the spot ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) market remains in a prolonged slump.

Data released by on-chain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence showed Fidelity bought about $28.6 million worth of ethereum tokens over the past week. The last time a similar-sized weekly purchase was confirmed was in late April.

The transaction is drawing more attention because the broader spot ethereum ETF market had been weak until just before it. The spot ethereum ETF market faced significant pressure from fund outflows over the past week, and most funds, including Fidelity, saw almost no new inflows on most trading days.

Fidelity's recent buying is seen as a sign that demand could partly revive despite market weakness. The amount may not be large in absolute terms given the buying period, but some say the change is clear compared with recent weeks when Fidelity was barely able to increase its ethereum purchases amid slowing demand.

Against this backdrop, market participants are watching whether to view the buying as a one-off trade or as an early sign that institutional money is returning to ethereum. Some in the market are reacting by asking whether institutional investor sentiment toward ethereum is reviving.

Still, it is difficult to see the buying as immediately signalling a strong trend reversal. The spot ethereum ETF market has attracted relatively weaker interest than spot bitcoin ETFs, and a structural limitation that it cannot directly reflect staking returns has also been cited as a factor that reduces investment appeal. For institutional money to flow back in earnest, a net inflow trend across multiple asset managers, not a one-off purchase, would need to be confirmed.

Even so, Fidelity's buying is meaningful in that it came at a time when ethereum prices and demand for investment products were weak. Purchases by a large asset manager could be interpreted as recognition of a market bottom or the possibility of expanding medium- to long-term positions. With outflow pressure continuing in the ETF market, the fact that some institutions are increasing ethereum exposure again could offer a clue to whether investor sentiment is recovering.

The purchase is drawing attention as an exceptional move in a spot ethereum ETF market that has seen continued outflows. Whether Fidelity's expanded buying is an early signal of a shift in demand for sluggish ethereum investment products has emerged as a point to watch.

Fidelity bought more ETH this week so far than any week in the past 2 months. pic.twitter.com/hixifFZQ4K