Ethereum (ETH) Capital Inflows Pales in Comparison to Bitcoin (BTC)

During the ongoing cycle, BTC and ETH have witnessed a growing divergence in their respective performances.

According to Glassnode’s findings, this can be attributed to a general trend of weaker capital rotation, particularly in comparison to previous cycles and all-time high breakthroughs.

Ethereum Receives Weak Capital Flows

Leading up to bitcoin’s peak established on March 14, Glassnode observed a surge in speculative activity. As per its latest on-chain weekly report, capital accumulation was seen among the short-term holders of BTC, with approximately $240 billion in wealth held in coins moved within the last six months, nearing peak levels.

The same cannot be said for Ethereum, which has failed to replicate this trend so far. The leading altcoin hasn’t even surpassed its 2021 all-time high level yet. As such, Bitcoin’s Short-Term Holder (STH) Realized Cap is nearly at the same level as the peak of the last bull run, while Ethereum’s STH-Realized Cap has barely risen from its lows, indicating a notably lackluster influx of new capital.

This shortage of new capital inflows reflects the underperformance of ETH compared to BTC. This could partly be due to the attention and accessibility brought about by spot Bitcoin ETFs.

The market is still anticipating the SEC’s decision regarding the approval of a suite of Ethereum ETFs, which is expected by the end of May.

As a result, “seasoned” Ether investors are “sitting back and waiting patiently for higher prices.”

“When we break down capital flows and rotation between BTC and ETH, we can see that Bitcoin has received the lion’s share of inflows, likely driven in part by the US spot ETFs. Short-term holders and speculation activity appears concentrated within Bitcoin, with a remarkably weak spill-over into Ethereum thus far.”

Ethereum Price Performance So Far

While ETH may have underperformed when compared to BTC due to the lack of a catalyst, Glassnode’s analysis suggests that the overall uptrend seems to be one of the more resilient in history, with relatively shallow corrections so far.

The altcoin has been struggling to move past $3,000. It tapped a multi-year peak of its own at almost $4,000 earlier this year but has failed to maintain its run and is now about a grand lower.