Altcoin season is upon us, and there’s no better indicator of this than Ethereum beginning to gain against Bitcoin on the duo’s trading pair against one another. The ratio between the two represents the ongoing battle between the two for cryptocurrency market share.
Right now, Bitcoin remains king. But growing institutional interest in Ethereum exposure, especially since the introduction of CME ETH futures in February, has caused the second-ranked crypto asset to catch up and go for the throne.
But like any top contender, there’s also a handful of other booming blockchain protocols that could also soon rival even Ethereum, making the competition across crypto right now fiercer than ever. Here’s a detailed breakdown based on the latest OKEx Insights research report.
Ethereum Price Doubles Since Introduction Of CME Futures
When Bitcoin futures were introduced on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, otherwise known as CME, it was the end of the bull market and the very top of the rally. But when Ethereum futures were introduced just three months ago, it started a chain reaction that took the altcoin into superstardom.
At the close of 2020, all eyes were on Bitcoin as it ended its most remarkable year on the books. January also sent the first-ever cryptocurrency to new heights. Around the same time, CME revealed it would debut ETH futures on the institutional-focused platform. Since the date that announcement was made, Ethereum is up around 500%.
From the time ETH futures made its debut in February 2021, Ethereum has since doubled in price, crushing its former all-time high and then some.
ETH Volume Is Catching Up To BTC, Reflective Of Institutional Demand
CME is home to accredited traders who are now increasingly focused on gaining exposure to Ethereum and is gaining steam against Bitcoin.
During the first seven days of trading, ETH futures volume on CME was only $23 million. Recent data shows one-week volumes are now totaling $353 million – a new all-time high record that keeps getting broken again and again.
Figures provided by CryptoCompare, reveal that CME ETH futures represented 1.36% of their BTC equivalent to start, but since spiked as high as 9.36%.
Institutional investors are hungry for ETH exposure everywhere they can get it. There’s also been a boom in the amount of Ethereum focused exchange-traded products, ranging from 3iQ’s Ether Fund, CoinShares Physical Ethereum, and two separate funds from Galaxy Digital.
Rising institutional and corporate demand for BTC has also helped Ethereum and the rest of the crypto market as cryptocurrencies become a more normalized vehicle for investment.
What’s Ahead For Ethereum, According To OKEx & CryptoCompare?
Ethereum has only recently begun its journey into the world of institutional acceptance, and although it is picking up speed and is bound to hit bumps in the long road ahead, the momentum of the Ethereum blockchain is seemingly unstoppable.
The use cases for Ethereum are growing by the day, and the emergence of DeFi and NFTs have only caused demand for ETH to skyrocket. And this is happening all while the available supply is dwindling.
The total value locked in DeFi has now reached over $100 billion, and more than ETH 2.0 has more than $10 billion worth of the token staked in the deposit contract. An EIP-1559 update coming in July will introduce a mechanism by which a percentage of transaction fees are destroyed, improving the scarcity of Ethereum.
Ethereum’s popularity has caused some bottlenecks in performance and high gas fees that have allowed other competitors such as Cardano and Solana to gain steam. However, only time will tell if Ethereum is able to withstand the coming onslaught while also giving Bitcoin a run for its dominance.
Stay tuned for the next OKEx Insights research report for the latest updates and in-depth market analytics.