Even with significant capital flowing into the recently introduced spot Bitcoin ETFs, the anticipated positive influence on BTC’s price is yet to materialize. Bitcoin experienced a decline of more than 5% following the approvals last week.
In contrast, Ethereum recorded an almost 8% rise over the same period despite struggling to sustain the $2,600 level. Data suggest that the price dominance of the world’s largest altcoin continues to surge against Bitcoin.
Ethereum’s Soaring Dominance
According to on-chain analytic firm Santiment, there has been a significant rise in Ethereum’s market dominance over Bitcoin. Over the past week alone, the figure saw a notable increase of more than 22.4%.
During this period, an average of 89.4k new Ethereum addresses were generated daily, emphasizing the network’s increasing popularity. Additionally, 96.3K wallets were created on January 16th.
???? #Ethereum‘s price dominance continues to surge against #Bitcoin‘s, now +22.4% in a week. During this stretch, there have been 89.4K new $ETH addresses created per day, and 96.3K wallets just yesterday. Additionally, the 2nd largest market cap asset’s supply on
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— Santiment (@santimentfeed) January 16, 2024
The planned Ethereum network upgrades, starting with the Dencun hard fork, are one the catalysts driving the appeal for Ether and forming a bullish perspective among investors. These events could potentially present an opportunity for the leading altcoin to further decouple from the rest of the crypto market.
A recent analysis by QCP Capital revealed that Bitcoin forwards have also plunged deeper than Ether forwards. The 1-month forward rate for Bitcoin dropped from a peak of 32% annually to a minimum of 9%, reflecting a decrease of 23%. Similarly, the 1-month forward rate for Ether decreased from a high of 28% to 12%, marking a reduction of 16%.
The digital asset trading firm added,
“ETH forwards still look attractive despite yields coming off, paying 11 – 13% ann. Selling ETH 1m 2200 Puts is also a decent play with yields above 21% ann. and a decent level to buy if there is a dip into the potential ETH spot ETF approvals.”
Looking ahead, significant upcoming events include the Bitcoin halving scheduled for mid-April and the potential approval of spot Ethereum ETFs starting in May. Meanwhile, broader macroeconomic events may influence the direction of the market in the interim.
Ether Exchange Supply Near All-Time Low
The supply of Ether on crypto exchanges has been on a consistent decline. Over the last ten days, Santiment found that the figure has dropped from 8.18% to 8.10%. This supply is currently nearing an all-time low of 8.05%
Such a trend indicated that Ether holders have increasingly moved their stash from crypto exchanges into long-term storage in anticipation of a price rise.
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