Long-term holding trends in the crypto market have taken an intriguing turn this year as Ethereum surpassed Bitcoin in retaining such investors. Despite Bitcoin’s 122% surge compared to Ethereum’s 48% growth in the past year, the increase in the long-term holders of the latter highlighted rising market confidence as 2025 approaches. Ethereum Shows Stronger Long-Term Holder Retention According to IntoTheBlock data , the percentage of long-term Ether (ETH) holders has steadily surpassed that of Bitcoin (BTC) investors throughout 2024. The year-to-date trend indicates a declining share of long-term Bitcoin holders, which currently stands at a little over 62%. On the other hand, long-term ETH holders began the year with a notable rise, thereby outpacing their BTC counterparties early on and stabilizing at 75.06%. This divergence in investor behavior, with Ethereum seeing stronger retention among long-term participants compared to Bitcoin over the past year. This shift comes even as Ethereum didn’t hit its all-time high price like Bitcoin. However, it is important to note that the world’s largest altcoin saw plenty of other developments. For instance, spot Ether ETFs received approval , which sparked interest without driving a major price rally. Anthony Sassano, a leading Ethereum advocate and educator, projected that Ether ETFs could see net inflows exceeding $50 billion in 2025. In addition to making crypto a key part of his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump also supported the DeFi platform “World Liberty Financial,” which has been built on Ethereum. This reflects Ethereum being a strong contender in the DeFi space despite a flurry of alternatives. On the technology side of things, Ethereum became more affordable after the Dencun upgrade, which introduced proto-danksharding that involves slashing transaction fees across Layer 2 solutions to offer users faster and cheaper alternatives to the mainnet. Bitcoin in Accumulation Zone? Meanwhile, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures market sentiment, dropped to 65 on December 30, the lowest since October 15, amid Bitcoin’s more than 12% decline to $93,000 over the past two weeks. After peaking at 94 in November, the index stayed above 70 through December, driven by optimism over pro-crypto US election results before the recent slump. However, the author James Williams asserted that Bitcoin has re-entered its accumulation zone, and a potential buildup phase could be ahead of a significant price move. The investor predicted a period of consolidation lasting a few weeks, which could pave the way for a breakout. With confidence in Bitcoin’s trajectory, he forecasted a price of $131,500 or higher by Q1 2025, calling it “inevitable.” The post ETH Outpaces BTC in Long-Term Holder Retention Throughout 2024: ITB appeared first on CryptoPotato .
