Altcoin season is just around the corner and there is no better indicator of it than Ethereum versus Bitcoin starting to win against each other in the duo’s trading pair. The ratio between the two represents the ongoing battle between the two for market share of cryptocurrencies.
At the moment, Bitcoin remains king. However, growing institutional interest in Ethereum exposure, especially since the CME ETH futures launch in February, has resulted in the secondary crypto asset catching up and taking the throne.
But as with any top contender, there are also a handful of other booming blockchain protocols that could soon even compete with Ethereum, making competition over crypto tougher than ever right now. Here is a detailed breakdown based on The latest research from OKEx Insights.
The Ethereum price has doubled since the introduction of the CME futures
When Bitcoin futures were introduced on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, also known as CME, it was the end of the bull market and the height of the rally. But when the Ethereum futures were only launched three months ago, it started a chain reaction that made the altcoin a superstar.
In late 2020, all eyes were on Bitcoin as it ended its most notable year on the books. January also took the first cryptocurrency to a new level. Around the same time, CME announced that ETH futures would debut on the institutionally-focused platform. Since the date of this announcement, Ethereum has risen around 500%.
Since the ETH futures debut in February 2021, the price of Ethereum has doubled, breaking its previous all-time high and a few more.
The ETH volume reaches BTC and reflects institutional demand
CME is home to accredited traders who are now increasingly focused on getting involved in Ethereum and gaining momentum against Bitcoin.
In the first seven days of trading, the volume of ETH futures on CME was only $ 23 million. Recent data shows the weeklong volume now totals $ 353 million – a new record that is being broken time and time again.
The numbers provided by CryptoCompare show that CME ETH futures accounted for 1.36% of their BTC equivalent at launch but have grown up to 9.36% since then.
Institutional investors are hungry for ETH engagement wherever they can get it. There has also been a boom in the number of Ethereum products traded on the exchange, ranging from 3iQ’s Ether Fund to CoinShares Physical Ethereum to two separate funds from Galaxy Digital.
The rising institutional and corporate demand for BTC has also helped Ethereum and the rest of the crypto market as cryptocurrencies have become a normalized investment tool.
What is Ethereum in store for OKEx & CryptoCompare?
Ethereum has only recently started its journey into the world of institutional adoption, and while it is picking up speed and will encounter bumps in the long way ahead, the momentum of the Ethereum blockchain seems unstoppable.
The use cases for Ethereum are increasing day by day, and the advent of DeFi and NFT has only caused the demand for ETH to skyrocket. And all while the available supply is dwindling.
The total value set in DeFi has now reached over $ 100 billion, and more than ETH 2.0 has a value of more than $ 10 billion for the token set in the deposit contract. An EIP-1559 update in July introduces a mechanism that destroys a percentage of transaction fees, thereby improving the scarcity of Ethereum.
Ethereum’s popularity has resulted in some performance bottlenecks and high gas fees that have allowed other competitors such as Cardano and Solana to gain steam. Only time will tell if Ethereum will be able to withstand the impending onslaught while getting Bitcoin excited about its dominance.
Stay tuned for the next one OKEx Insights Research Report for the latest updates and detailed market analysis.
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