Skip to content
Finance — Investing — All about technology.

Market outlook reveals growing optimism for Ethereum, as key performance indicators suggest promising potential.

Ethereum has observed a continuous growth in its long-term holders count throughout 2024, contrary to Bitcoin, which has witnessed a decline in this specific category, as reported by IntoTheBlock.

,   and  Administrator
2 min read
Market Indicators Show Increased Optimism for Ethereum
Market Indicators Show Increased Optimism for Ethereum

Market outlook reveals growing optimism for Ethereum, as key performance indicators suggest promising potential.

In the world of cryptocurrencies, a significant shift has occurred in 2024, with Ethereum (ETH) witnessing a surge in long-term holders while Bitcoin (BTC) has seen a decline. This trend is primarily attributed to institutional accumulation, enhanced Ethereum utility, and technological upgrades, contrasted with softer demand and capital outflows from Bitcoin holders.

Key factors contributing to this trend include:

  1. Institutional Adoption and Strategic Accumulation: Ethereum mega-whales (holders of 10,000+ ETH) have increased their holdings by over 9% since October 2024. Institutions are building long-term positions in Ethereum, often via new wallets to avoid noise. This shift in behaviour indicates that institutions view ETH not just as speculative but as a strategic, long-term technology investment.
  2. Ethereum’s Technological Advancements and Utility: The post-Merge Ethereum is more energy-efficient and has seen substantial Layer 2 scaling solutions, such as Danksharding in progress, that boost throughput and usability. This enhances Ethereum’s role as foundational Web3 infrastructure, attracting investors seeking exposure to utility and growth rather than just scarcity.
  3. ETF Inflows and Corporate Treasury Interest: Ethereum-focused ETFs, notably BlackRock’s ETHA, attracted $28.5 billion inflows in 2025, compared with Bitcoin’s outflows of $1.17 billion during the same period. Additionally, companies are reportedly buying ETH for their treasuries, signalling confidence in Ethereum’s long-term value and yield generation.
  4. Market Sentiment and Price Performance: Ethereum's price surged significantly, achieving new all-time highs in 2025, outperforming Bitcoin and driving upward momentum in long-term holding. This contrasts with Bitcoin facing downward pressure and capital inflows softening despite its price highs.
  5. Bitcoin Holders’ Behaviour: Bitcoin, while retaining its brand as digital gold and scarcity asset, sees lighter investor appetite in this cycle, as indicated by declining capital inflows despite new price peaks.

In spite of high transaction fees on Ethereum and the Q4 frenzy around meme coins, Kaiko analysts linked Ethereum's slower growth in Q4 2024 to fund flows into Solana. However, no information about the impact of Solana's growth on Bitcoin was provided.

It's worth noting that as of December 2024, the percentage of long-term Ethereum holders surpassed that of long-term Bitcoin holders. The percentage of long-term Ethereum holders increased from 59% in January 2024 to 75% by December 2024, according to a chart provided by IntoTheBlock.

Michaël van de Poppe, founder of MN Trading, predicted that Ethereum could strengthen against Bitcoin as early as January. A breakout above the 0.4 level in the ETH/BTC pair, according to Michaël van de Poppe, could trigger an altcoin rally within Ethereum's ecosystem.

Bitcoin's price surged by more than 122% year-to-date as of December 2024 and set new all-time highs twice during the same period. However, no specific timeframe was provided for Michaël van de Poppe's prediction of Ethereum strengthening against Bitcoin.

CryptoQuant recently noted bullish signals for Ethereum, and Ethereum's value grew by 48.2% year-to-date as of December 2024, according to CoinGecko. No new information about Ethereum setting new all-time highs was provided.

In summary, Ethereum’s increase in long-term holders is fuelled by institutional buying, superior utility, technological progress, and strong ETF inflows, while Bitcoin's decrease stems from waning new capital inflows, profit-taking, and a narrative less focused on growth utility compared to Ethereum.

Read also:

Related

Latest