Ethereum ETH
-0.85%
Winning SEC approval for a spot ether ETF has brought some relief to the asset itself.
Hopes for the ETF waned earlier this year and interest in Ether faded after the Dencun upgrade began. The asset has lagged behind Bitcoin, which has thrived since the launch of its spot ETF, and many other crypto assets that have seen strong rebounds in the first few months of the year.
For example, BTC/ETH, a widely researched chart to measure the performance between two assets, which shows the price of Bitcoin in terms of Ether, rose from 16.6 ETH in mid-January to 22.2 ETH on May 17, making Bitcoin Indicates that there is a value of 1. A few weeks ago, there were 5 more ETH than at the beginning of the year. However, shortly after the value of Ether surged in anticipation of ETF approval, this ratio fell below 18 Ether, bringing the price between the two in line with levels seen earlier this year.
We likewise saw some pretty sharp wicks on the SOL/ETH chart. 1 SOL can buy about four times as much Ether as it did a year ago, despite Ethereum’s recent rise.
As part of this overall ether slowdown, the asset’s spot trading has lagged its major cryptocurrency peers. At the peak of the recent cryptocurrency rally in March, the seven-day moving average of Bitcoin spot trading volume reached $29 billion, the highest since May 2021. However, for ETH, trading volume reached a record high of $12.75 billion. It exceeded the high reached in May 2022 during the surge in sell-offs caused by the collapse of Terra.
However, on May 26, the gap between the two narrowed, with Bitcoin’s moving average volume falling to $12.89 billion compared to Ethereum’s $11.26 billion.
In nominal terms, the $1.6 billion gap is the closest since January 2020, before the first major bull market, when trading volumes for both assets were relatively low.
However, Ethereum’s 87% of Bitcoin’s daily trading volume is its largest relative share ever. The previous peak was 85% in June 2021, when trading in both assets amplified at the peak of the bull market.
It is no surprise that Ethereum trading volume is skyrocketing compared to Bitcoin. Considering this is Ether-centric news that helped boost the asset’s value. However, the fact that this catalyst has boosted Ethereum’s spot trading market share to levels not seen until 2021 is significant.
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