Bitcoin is stagnant while Ethereum soars. What is happening in this crypto market?

Just the night before, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell had just made his dovish comments, and the crypto market directly showcased a stark contrast: Ethereum surged to a new all-time high of $4,888, while Bitcoin lingered around $117,000, failing to even touch the $120,000 threshold. The logic behind this reveals a "silent war" in the flow of funds.

Data does not lie: funds vote with their feet, and BTC is being "bled dry."

First, let's look at two sets of key data:

Bitcoin ETF saw a net outflow of $23.2 million, with BlackRock's IBIT experiencing a single-day net outflow of $198.8 million, which can be described as "leading the retreat." Although Fidelity's FBTC and ARK ARKB saw slight net inflows, it is far from enough to offset BlackRock's selling pressure.

Ethereum ETF saw net inflows of $337 million, with BlackRock's ETHA and Fidelity's FETH contributing over $220 million combined, and Grayscale's mini ETH also attracting $22.7 million.

Simply put: institutions are selling Bitcoin and buying Ethereum. This directly explains why BTC is stagnant while ETH is skyrocketing—funds are the fuel of the market, and when the fuel flows in one direction, the vehicle naturally goes that way.

Long Ge's viewpoint: The narrative of BTC as "digital gold" is being crushed by ETH's "ecological empire."

The issue with Bitcoin is fundamentally one of narrative aging. It was once viewed as "digital gold," a safe-haven asset, but this label is now being challenged by reality:

ETF fund outflow

Institutions are not philanthropists; when Bitcoin ETFs aren't making money, they naturally retreat. The massive outflow from BlackRock's IBIT indicates that even the "leading brother" is beginning to adjust positions.

Lack of new narratives

The Bitcoin ecosystem is almost stagnant; apart from "digital gold" and "store of value," there are no new application scenarios. What about Ethereum? DeFi, NFT, Layer 2, staking and mining... the ecosystem is thriving explosively, and after the ETF approval, it has become a "compliant printing machine."

In contrast, Ethereum's ETF approval directly opened up the "institutional funding pool." Traditional giants like BlackRock and Fidelity can now openly buy ETH through ETFs, and ETH itself is the king of smart contract platforms. The more active the ecosystem, the more value ETH locks in. Funds are not foolish; they go where the money is to be made—ETH's rise is essentially the result of the resonance between ecological value and institutional funds.

The movements of the giant whale reveal the market's "real vote"

What’s more intriguing is the actions of the whales:

A whale that held 10,606 BTC for seven years just exchanged 300 BTC for ETH and holds a long position of $135 million in ETH, with an unrealized profit of $58 million.

Another address that has been dormant for three years transferred 3,500 BTC to a new address, with an average withdrawal price of $29,620, resulting in a profit of $305 million.

The movements of these whales convey two signals:

Long-term holders are starting to "shift positions," moving from BTC to ETH, because the profit effect of ETH is more evident.

The profit taking on BTC is occurring, while the upward potential of ETH is still viewed positively.

Powell's dovish tones essentially mean "injecting liquidity" into the market, but the choice of funds has already indicated: the narrative center of the crypto market is shifting from "digital gold" to "ecological applications." If BTC wants to turn things around, it either has to wait for the next bull market or for a significant crisis in the Ethereum ecosystem.

But at least for now, ETH is undoubtedly the "king of crypto." Do you think BTC can catch up?


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