Long-term holders own 70% of ETH, IntoTheBlock reveals

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IntoTheBlock has revealed that over 70 percent of the total Ethereum is owned by long-term holders as of December 1. Likewise, long-term Bitcoin holders own almost 70 percent of BTC.

“The amount of $ETH owned by long-term holders reached a record of over 70% in December,” said IntoTheBlock in a social media post.

Many see the increase in the share of ETH held by these investors as a sign of confidence in the cryptocurrency’s future potential.

This milestone coincides with forecasts indicating Ethereum could soon surpass Bitcoin. On December 23, crypto analyst Raoul Pal reiterated a prior prediction suggesting that in 2024, ETH and BTC might replicate their 2021 performance.

“For all the ETH bears… in Feb 2021, BTC first hit $44,000 (where it is today) and ETH was at $1400 (now $2250), 9 months later ETH was up 245%, BTC was up 45%… I think ETH outperforming BTC will be a key macro trend of 2024 and our work at EXPAAM suggests it,” said Pal.

During that time, ETH outperformed BTC, growing by 254 percent compared to Bitcoin’s 45 percent, despite starting at a lower position.

Pal’s positive prediction was echoed in a forecast by JPMorgan analysts. Despite their typically conservative view on the crypto market, they projected that ETH would surpass BTC and other digital assets in market performance by 2024.

The Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou-led team attributed the outlook to the EIP-4844 upgrade, also referred to as “proto-danksharding.” Expected to launch in the first half of 2024, this upgrade is anticipated to significantly enhance Ethereum’s network performance through a more efficient sharding method.

Despite its current value lagging behind Bitcoin, several analysts believe that the remarkable performance of altcoins and Layer 2 (L2) projects suggests an imminent rally for ETH. Currently priced at $2,300, ETH has seen a 4.3 percent increase over the past week and an 88.6 percent increase over the last 12 months.

However, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently moved 500 ETH, worth over $1 million, to Coinbase, as reported by on-chain analysts. This came after several substantial transfers by Buterin in September and his statement in October that he had not sold Ether for personal profit since 2018.

Buterin’s recent activity in his Ethereum wallet, which included a $3.79 million ETH transfer over ten days in September, sparked speculation about him selling his crypto holdings. However, he clarified that the transfers were for philanthropic purposes, not personal profit.

Potential approval of ETH ETFs to boost Ethereum

Crypto analyst Pentoshi anticipates that the potential approval of spot Ethereum ETFs next year could significantly boost ETH.

Earlier this year, asset management companies like BlackRock, Fidelity and Hashdex submitted applications for spot-based Ethereum ETFs to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Pentoshi believes Ethereum is likely to gain positive momentum as investors look forward to this development.

“We’ve been bull tweeting the BTC ETF since $25,000-$28,000. Soon, we get to do this all again with the ETH ETF in 2024,” Pentoshi said.

“No matter what you believe, it’s all game theory. As the date approaches, people will be less willing to sell, and others will feel the need to buy. $2,7xx and $3,400 on the table.”

In addition to Pentoshi, Trader Michaël van de Poppe highlighted that ETH might be forming a base against BTC, with ETH significantly outpacing BTC in the early months of 2024.

“Ethereum isn’t dead. There’s a temporary snapshot of hype taking place that other ecosystems are better. They aren’t. The best quarter for ETH is the first quarter of the year and that’s approaching. Three to eight months prior to Bitcoin halving -> bottoming period,” said van de Poppe.

Van de Poppe anticipates the ETH/BTC pair to surge toward 0.12 BTC, valued at $5,243 by April next year. At the time of writing, ETH/BTC is trading at 0.05257 BTC, which is equivalent to $2,297.