The king of altcoins, Ethereum (ETH), has managed to draw attention recently by outperforming Bitcoin (BTC) with its performance over the last seven days. This increase in ETH’s value not only pushed its price above $2,900 for the first time in nearly two years but also highlights a significant shift in market dynamics supporting the largest altcoin. According to Greg Magadini, Director of Derivative Products at Amberdata, ETH’s fundamentals look more promising compared to Bitcoin, largely due to its deflationary supply trend.
Ethereum’s Outlook Appears Strong
Current data shows that ETH’s price has increased by over 16% in the past week, while Bitcoin’s price saw a smaller increase of 8.5%. Additionally, the ETH/BTC ratio has experienced a notable rise of about 7%, reaching the 0.055 level.
ETH’s recent superior performance comes after a period where it lagged behind Bitcoin, as investors closely monitored the debut of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the U.S. and awaited Bitcoin’s upcoming block reward halving, which occurs every four years. However, attention may now shift to the significant decrease in ETH supply since the implementation of a transition to a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism known as The Merge in September 2022.
Magadini pointed out the contrast between Bitcoin’s block reward halving, which only slows down the rate of supply increase, and the active reduction in ETH’s supply since The Merge. According to data from Ultrasound.money, more than one million ETH have been burned since the transition, resulting in a net supply decrease of 0.209% on an annual basis.
The deflationary trend in ETH’s supply stems from Ethereum’s adoption of a Proof of Stake consensus mechanism, which replaces miners with validators and burns transaction fees, significantly reducing the circulating supply of ETH. As validators stake their ETH to participate in network governance, the amount of locked ETH has surpassed 30.1 million, which corresponds to 25% of the total circulating supply.
ETH Could Soar with Spot ETF Approval
On the other hand, the approval of eleven spot Bitcoin ETFs by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January has raised expectations for the approval of spot Ethereum ETFs in the U.S. This development, combined with the decrease in ETH supply and growing institutional interest, could further strengthen the altcoin king’s bullish outlook in the eyes of investors.
Magadini emphasized that the combination of ETH’s decreasing supply, the staking of ETH, and the potential approval of spot ETFs followed by incoming investments presents a very favorable scenario for the altcoin king’s price trajectory.
