Institutional flows across the two major crypto assets are quite divided this cycle.
According to data from SoSoValue, Bitcoin [BTC] ETFs attracted $2.44 billion in net inflows in April, adding to the $1.32 billion in March. On the contrary, Ethereum [ETH] ETFs lag behind, generating net inflows of about $540 million. To put that into perspective, BTC ETFs have attracted almost 4.8x more capital than ETH ETFs.
On the graphs the impact is quite clear. Bitcoin is up about 13.5% in April, which is about 1.5x Ethereum’s performance over the same period. As a result, the ETH/BTC ratio has already fallen by around 3.15% in the second quarter, further increasing the weakness compared to the previous two quarters.
In this context, it feels a bit premature to call Ethereum’s current cycle entirely “institutionally led.”
That said, not everyone in the Ethereum camp agrees with this view.
The main counterargument comes from Tom Lee’s BitMine [BMNR]. Ethereum drivers argue BMNR could even outperform Bitcoin’s strategy [MSTR] over time. The logic is quite simple: BMNR accumulates ETH, stakes some of it, and then uses the staking yield to continue strengthening its position. With 72% of BMNR’s ETH positions currently staked, the model has some real traction.
Still, the bigger question is whether BMNR-style accumulation will be enough to offset growing institutional flows into Bitcoin and actually help ETH close the gap in BTC’s performance. In particular, based on the flow data, it might still be a bit too early to completely dismiss Ethereum’s “institutional” story.
Tom Lee’s case for Ethereum as the next “Wall Street” transaction
Unlike short-term investors, institutional players typically build positions with a long-term mindset.
It is striking that Tom Lee’s entire plea for ETH rests on this idea. Even with weaker ETF inflows, Ethereum still leads on several key on-chain metrics, ranging from approximately 65% dominance in the real-world assets (RWA) sector to over 50% of the stablecoin market share, which translates to nearly $167 billion in on-chain liquidity. Now, when you look at the increasing growth in these sectors, Tom Lee’s case begins to carry more weight.
According to DeFiLlama, the RWA market has grown roughly fivefold in just over a year, from approximately $4.1 billion to $25.6 billion. In this context, its 65% dominance means that Ethereum continues to capture a large share of the fastest-growing sector, especially as more and more institutional-grade products such as JPMorgan’s tokenized money market fund (MONY) move on-chain.
Naturally, attention now shifts to the stablecoin market.
Historically, stablecoins served mainly as a defensive instrument. However, that role has clearly evolved. Stablecoins are increasingly becoming the core layer of the crypto economy, reflected in a market growth of roughly 25% since 2025. In that context, recent comments from Coinbase CEO Jesse Pollak has additional significance, especially for Ethereum.
From a longer-term perspective, with Ethereum holding approximately 50% of the stablecoin market share, it appears increasingly positioned to serve as the core infrastructure layer for AI-driven interfaces that facilitate crypto payments. In short, ETH’s dominance in both liquidity and RWAs suggests that a deeper Wall Street-style phase could still form in this Q2 cycle, despite relatively weaker ETF flows.
Final summary
- Bitcoin is leading the institutional inflows, which has led to ETH/BTC weakness so far in the 2026 cycle.
- Ethereum has dominated RWAs and stablecoins, creating an important divergence that could support institutional positioning against Bitcoin.