Ether Favored Over Bitcoin by Big Money, Here Are 3 Clues That Point to ETH Bias in Crypto Market
The cryptocurrency market is witnessing a significant shift in institutional sentiment, with ether (ETH) gaining traction over bitcoin (BTC). While bitcoin recently hit record highs above $110,000, fueled by macroeconomic factors and ETF inflows, its performance is being eclipsed by a growing bullish bias towards ether, despite ETH’s 20% year-to-date decline.
This shift is evident across multiple market indicators. Options data from Deribit reveals a stronger bullish positioning for ether than bitcoin. Both BTC and ETH 25-delta risk reversals are positive, indicating a preference for call options (bullish bets), but ETH’s risk reversals are significantly higher, signifying greater bullish sentiment.
Further evidence comes from CME futures open interest. While bitcoin futures open interest has increased by 70% since April, reaching over $17 billion, growth has stagnated recently. In contrast, ether’s open interest has surged by 186% to $3.15 billion, with growth accelerating in the past two weeks. This divergence suggests institutions are increasingly favoring ether.
Futures premiums and perpetual funding rates reinforce this trend. One-month ether futures show an annualized premium of 10.5%, the highest since January, exceeding bitcoin’s 8.74% premium. Elevated premiums indicate strong buying interest and bullish sentiment. Similarly, annualized funding rates for ether perpetual futures on offshore exchanges have approached 8%, significantly higher than bitcoin’s sub-5% rate.
The disparity may also be influenced by factors such as cash and carry arbitrage traders impacting bitcoin’s basis. Despite ether being 84% below its 2021 all-time high, the collective data strongly indicates a significant market shift towards ether, with institutions increasingly embracing the second-largest cryptocurrency.
