Spot Ethereum ETFs in the US had a total net outflow of $44.5 million last week after recording seven consecutive days of negative flows. While the "new eight" saw minor inflows, the impact of  Grayscale's ETHE $118 million outflows offset their positive flows.

The weak flows negatively affected ETH's price with a low weekly gain of 3%. To add insult to injury, the Ethereum Foundation potentially sold 35K ETH on Friday when the market saw a brief rise.

In comparison, Bitcoin ETFs have posted seven consecutive days of net inflows despite outflows in Grayscale's GBTC. This pattern suggests declining institutional interest in Ethereum, even with the market anticipating a rate cut from the Federal Reserve (Fed).

The Ethereum blockchain trading volume and transaction count in August also indicate waning investor interest in the top altcoin. According to data from The Block, the 7-day moving average of daily trading volume on the top Layer 1 dropped from $6.56 billion on July 26 to $2.9 billion on Monday.

While the decline may have been attributed to the recent market crash, Ethereum's monthly transaction count also dropped to 27.27 million — a low last recorded in May 2020 — with only five days left in August. This confirms a risk-averse attitude among investors that aligns with a historical summer decline for Ethereum.

On the bright side, Coinbase analysts David Duong and David Han highlighted that the decline in Ethereum activity this August wasn't as heavy as that of previous years.

"The decrease in ether trading volumes in August compared to the preceding three months has been a modest 7.7%, compared to the average 16.8% decline observed over the last five years," noted Coinbase analysts.