Market Bullishness Remains Strong for Ethereum, According to Key Indicators
In the dynamic world of cryptocurrencies, two major players, Bitcoin and Ethereum, have been making headlines this year. While Bitcoin has set new all-time highs twice, Ethereum has shown steady growth, with its value increasing by 48.2% year-to-date, according to CoinGecko.
One of the key factors driving Ethereum's growth is its staking appeal. Ethereum supports staking, allowing holders to earn rewards and generate yield through validator participation and DeFi protocols. This passive income, combined with Ethereum's lower annual inflation rate (+0.38%) compared to Bitcoin's (+0.84%), makes Ethereum a potentially better store of value, attracting holders to lock in tokens for staking yields.
Institutional interest in Ethereum has also been on the rise. In 2025, Ethereum attracted significantly larger ETF inflows ($2.4B in a week) than Bitcoin ($827M), signalling stronger institutional confidence. This increased institutional interest supports longer holding periods among large holders.
Conversely, Bitcoin holders have been distributing their positions, reducing long-term holdings as BTC prices hover near resistance levels around $118,000. These holders accumulate during dips but offload during price strength, leading to a decrease in long-term Bitcoin holders.
Ethereum's growth, however, has been slower compared to Bitcoin in 2024. This can be attributed to Ethereum's higher volatility, key resistance zones, market maturity, and the complexity of its ecosystem. Ethereum's more complex value proposition, which includes smart contracts, DeFi, and NFT activity, can slow price discovery and growth compared to Bitcoin's simpler store-of-value narrative.
Despite these challenges, analysts predict that Ethereum could strengthen against Bitcoin as early as January. CryptoQuant recently noted bullish signals for Ethereum, and a breakout above the 0.4 level in the ETH/BTC pair could trigger an altcoin rally within Ethereum's ecosystem.
As we approach the end of 2024, the percentage of Ethereum holders keeping the asset for over a year has reached 75%, surpassing the share of long-term Bitcoin holders. The number of long-term Ethereum holders has increased throughout the year, according to IntoTheBlock, while Bitcoin's long-term holders dropped from around 70% to 62% over the same period.
In conclusion, Ethereum's increasing percentage of long-term holders is driven by its staking appeal, institutional ETF interest, and potentially better store-of-value characteristics, while Bitcoin’s long-term holders have recently been reducing exposure amid price resistance. The slower growth of Ethereum compared to Bitcoin in 2024 reflects market volatility, maturity differences, resistance hurdles, and complexity in its value proposition.
[Image: pic.twitter.com/F7ghaSq66T] This chart shows the percentage of long-term Bitcoin and Ether holders over the past year.
[References] 1. CoinGecko (2024). Ethereum Year-to-Date Performance. [Online]. Available: https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/ethereum 2. IntoTheBlock (2024). Long-term Holder Distribution. [Online]. Available: https://intotheblock.io/trends/long-term-holders 3. CoinShares (2025). Institutional Flows into Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. [Online]. Available: https://coinshares.com/research/institutional-flows-into-bitcoin-and-ethereum-etfs/ 4. CryptoQuant (2024). Bullish Signals for Ethereum. [Online]. Available: https://cryptoquant.com/trend/eth 5. Kaiko (2024). Ethereum's Slower Growth Linked to Fund Flows into Solana. [Online]. Available: https://kaiko.com/research/ethereum-slower-growth-linked-to-fund-flows-into-solana/ 6. van de Poppe, M (2024). Ethereum Could Strengthen Against Bitcoin. [Online]. Available: https://twitter.com/CryptoMichNL/status/1550364795766508544
Investing in technology-based finance has led many to consider both Bitcoin and Ethereum as potential long-term investments. This year, institutional interest in Ethereum has surged, with significantly larger ETF inflows compared to Bitcoin, while Bitcoin holders have been reducing their long-term holdings. Consequently, the percentage of Ethereum holders keeping the asset for over a year has now surpassed the share of long-term Bitcoin holders.
