ETH/BTC sees its strongest weekly performance in months, as ether rebounds with $133 million in spot ETF inflows.
Ethereum gains 19% against Bitcoin this week.
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Posted November 28, 2024 at 10:40 am EST.
Ether has spent most of 2024 trailing far behind its peers. While bitcoin and solana hit new all-time highs this cycle—$99,655 for bitcoin and $263 for solana—ether (ETH), the native token of the Ethereum blockchain, has remained stuck in their shadows.
Trading at around $3,600 at the time of writing, ether is still 26% below its Nov. 2021 peak of $4,891. Even in terms of market dominance, ether has struggled, it went from commanding over 20% of the total crypto market cap in 2021 to just 13% today.
Read more: Ethereum Has Had a Banner Year in Most Areas. Except Price.
Over the past week, ether is finally showing signs of life. The ETH/BTC ratio — a metric that compares ether’s performance to bitcoin (BTC) — jumped 19%, marking its strongest weekly performance in months. The surge is notable not just for its size but for what it represents: a potential shift in sentiment toward Ethereum, which many had written off for this year.
What’s Behind the Rebound?
Ethereum’s rebound comes as inflows into spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) hit new highs. Over the past three days, spot Ethereum ETFs attracted $133 million, with total assets under management crossing $10 billion for the first time, per data from SoSoValue. Yesterday alone, the spot Ethereum ETFs pulled in $90 million — almost matching the $103 million in inflows to Bitcoin ETFs.
This marks a stark contrast to earlier in the year, when bitcoin-focused ETFs dominated investor attention. Monthly spot Ethereum ETF inflows have now reached $745 million, per SoSoValue, making November the most successful month for spot ether ETFs on record.
Market sentiment also appears to be shifting. After months of ether underperforming bitcoin, traders may now see the ETH/BTC ratio’s low levels as an opportunity. Macro and crypto trader Alex Krüger noted that “a consensus is starting to form among smart money that ETH/BTC has bottomed and will perform well in Q1 [2025].”
“There could be a gradual rotation from BTC to ETH and other alts if BTC keeps rejecting 100k,” said crypto trading firm QCP Capital in a note on Nov. 25. “In fact we are already starting to see this play out as BTC dominance dropped from 62% to 59% over the past week.”
Despite this week’s rally, ether is still a long way from its former glory. The ETH/BTC ratio now sits at 0.038, far below its 2017 peak of 0.08. To reclaim that high, ether would need to climb another 130% against bitcoin, which would push ether’s price to around $8,300 — an ambitious leap by any measure.
Read more: Ethereum Supply Growth Raises Concerns Amid Launch of Spot ETH ETFs
