Ethereum is outperforming Bitcoin as tensions involving the United States, Israel, and Iran continue to shape global markets.
Source of data CryptoSlate ETH is up 18% against the dollar since early March, while Bitcoin is up 13% over the same period.
The ETH/BTC ratio also rose higher, rising 7.6% from 0.0293 to 0.0315 within three weeks. This is a sign that Ethereum is not simply rising with Bitcoin, but is solidifying its position relative to Bitcoin.
These changes pushed ETH above $2,300 and marked its first positive monthly close since August 2025. The move is notable because it is unfolding amid pressures across global macro markets, where conflict risks and rising energy prices are beginning to reshape expectations about inflation and monetary policy.
The military conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran pushed the price of Brent crude oil above $102 per barrel and the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil above $95. Energy markets are increasingly placing greater value on the risk of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping lane that carries about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
Rising oil prices often affect inflation expectations, raising expectations that central banks will keep tightening policies for longer. In past episodes, this backdrop has tended to support Bitcoin’s role as a defensive cryptocurrency trade, with investors treating Bitcoin as the closest asset to a macro hedge within the sector.
This time, Ethereum is providing even stronger performance. These differences indicate that capital is flowing into blockchain-specific themes related to Ethereum’s market structure, network activity, and positioning among institutional investors, rather than a broad shift into cryptocurrencies as protection against geopolitical stress.
Asset manager Matrxiport said:
“Ethereum is increasingly behaving like a financial asset. This dynamic may help explain why the cryptocurrency has shown recent relative strength compared to other asset classes and why it does not fit neatly into the traditional risk-on/risk-off framework.”
Wall Street funds return to Ethereum.
Wall Street has been sending new capital to Ethereum recently at a pace that is helping boost the token’s performance.
Nine spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded net inflows of more than $160 million last week, the highest weekly inflows since mid-January, according to data from SoSoValue. This trend continued into the new state, which saw an additional $35.9 million in inflows on March 16.
This flow pattern added to institutional demand returning to ETH after a period of weakening sentiment.
Sustained inflows of that magnitude have typically outpaced the asset’s sharp price movements, including the previous rally that pushed ETH above $4,000.
The latest allocation therefore suggests that portfolio managers are again increasing exposure as the market expands beyond Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, the second shift is also making an investment case. Regulated products that provide exposure to Ethereum’s network yields are opening new avenues for traditional financial investors.
BlackRock recently launched an Ethereum staking ETF under the name ETHB, giving investors access to both price exposure and validator rewards. The fund raised initial capital of $104.7 million in its first two trading days and attracted additional inflows of more than $45.7 million.
This structure provides portfolio managers with a way to evaluate ETH through its cash flow potential and network-based returns. This is a framework that could give greater weight to allocators who need income generation as part of their alternative asset holding practices.
At the same time, corporate buyers are building Ethereum positions on their balance sheets.
Since last year, BitMine has been aggressively expanding its ETH funding and has stated that it plans to acquire up to 5% of the token’s supply.
The pace of purchases accelerated this month, with the company purchasing more than 100,000 ETH in the first two weeks, bringing the company’s total holdings to approximately 4.6 million Ether as of mid-March.
These purchases are creating a steady stream of demand, mirroring the financial strategies used by several publicly traded companies to accumulate Bitcoin early in the cycle.
Speculative interest gradually returns to ETH.
Speculative demand is showing signs of returning to ETH as institutional buying strengthens.
Derivatives positioning in digital asset markets was reset following the flash crash on October 10, when approximately $19 billion in leveraged positions was liquidated in 24 hours, according to CryptoQuant data.
On Binance, Ethereum’s estimated leverage ratio fell 27% in the aftermath of the move, indicating a significant reduction in speculative exposure.
Since then, leverage has been gradually being rebuilt. By mid-March, positioning had also risen along with improving trader sentiment, indicating that speculative participation was returning in a more measured manner than in the earlier stages of the cycle.
Data from BlockScholes is added to the picture. The company’s ETH Risk Appetite Index has risen from previous lows, indicating increased willingness to invest in the token as conditions across the cryptocurrency market stabilize.
Meanwhile, market structure data indicates that immediate selling pressure for digital assets is low.
30-day Ethereum inflows into Binance fell to about $20.2 billion, the lowest level since May 2025, according to CryptoQuant data. A decline in exchange deposits means fewer tokens being sold at major centralized venues, strengthening liquidity as prices recover.
At the same time, more investors appear to be moving ETH into private wallets and staking contracts. This change reduces the amount of tokens readily available for spot trading and makes the market more responsive to new buying activity.
Ethereum’s blockchain foundation also supports the rally
Ethereum’s recent rally against Bitcoin is tracking a recovery in network activity, according to data from staking provider Everstake and other industry sources.
In a recent report, Everstake stated that Ethereum is on pace to record its highest network usage quarter in over a year even before the first quarter is complete.
During that period, the network has so far processed more than 150 million transactions and recorded 27.7 million active addresses, the report said. Both figures are higher than the quarterly figures for all of 2025.
The increase in activity is also seen in Ethereum’s base layer throughput. Everstake said the network achieved a record 2.52 million gases per second. This is an indicator of higher usage across decentralized applications and other on-chain activities.
Some of this demand is related to Ethereum’s position in tokenized real-world assets, something that is attracting more attention from financial firms.
According to data from Token Terminal, Ethereum currently holds a 61% market share with approximately $200 billion in payments made in tokenized financial products. This scale has helped keep Ethereum at the center of issuance and settlement activity as institutions move traditional assets onto blockchain-based rails.
The network’s supply profile is also part of the investment case. Since Ethereum switched to a proof-of-stake system, the rate of new Ether issuance has remained lower than that of Bitcoin, according to Leon Waidmann, head of research at Lisk.
Waidmann said Ethereum’s annual supply growth rate is about 0.24%, compared to about 1.28% for Bitcoin after the recent halving.
Taking this into consideration, he said:
“Everyone calls Bitcoin ‘sound money’, but by the numbers ETH has a tighter monetary policy!”
Taken together, the data points to a market where Ethereum’s price strength is matched by higher usage, broader participation, and slower supply growth rates. For investors assessing the relative value of major digital assets, this combination helps support ETH’s recent performance.