Ethereum outperforms Bitcoin amid wave of institutional investment

After months of underperformance, Ethereum is starting to turn around on institutional interest.

Institutions are no longer just looking at Bitcoin (BTC) when it comes to crypto treasuries. Ethereum (ETH) rose 64.38% in the past 90 days, from $1,808 to $3,684. During the same period, Bitcoin rose just 10.72%, from $94,748 to $115,375.

Rising institutional interest was behind Ethereum’s surge, Shawn Young, Chief Analyst of MEXC Research, told crypto.news. He highlighted major treasury buys, as well as investments in other altcoins.

“The total ETH held by listed firms has surged nearly tenfold since late 2024. Meanwhile, VERB’s move into Toncoin and Sequans’ growing Bitcoin reserves demonstrate a broader trend: we are no longer in a Bitcoin-only treasury era,” Shawn Young, MEXC.

For instance, on August 4, BitMine’s Ethereum holdings reached $2.9 billion, becoming the largest corporate holder of the asset. What is more, the firm executed a very aggressive strategy, amassing these holdings in just five weeks.

This suggests a broader trend where major financial institutions are starting to diversify their crypto portfolios beyond Bitcoin. In this environment, Ethereum is an obvious choice as the second-largest crypto asset.

Ethereum recovers from slump on digital oil narrative

This came after a period of slow performance, largely fueled by questions about Ethereum’s tokenomics. For instance, in 2024, Ethereum’s price was up 53%, compared to Bitcoin’s 113% gain. Notably, falling on-chain volumes, largely due to layer-2 networks, led to noticeable inflation, putting pressure on ETH’s price.

Still, the narrative around Ethereum started to change in June, the “digital oil” designation gaining popularity. Namely, investors were increasingly interested in Ethereum’s role in powering the largest DeFi ecosystem.