Ethereum is surpassing Bitcoin as tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran continue to shape global markets.
Data from CryptoSlate shows that ETH has risen 18% against the dollar since the beginning of March, compared to a 13% gain for Bitcoin over the same period.
The ETH/BTC ratio has also moved higher, rising 7.6% from 0.0293 to 0.0315 in less than three weeks, a sign that Ethereum is gaining ground against Bitcoin rather than simply rising with it.
That shift has put ETH above $2,300 and on track for its first positive monthly close since August 2025. The move is notable because it is unfolding amid pressure in global macro markets, where conflict risks and higher energy prices have begun to reshape expectations for inflation and monetary policy.
The military conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran has pushed Brent crude above $102 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate has surged past $95. Energy markets are increasingly considering the risk of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping lane that carries about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
Higher oil prices have often fueled inflation expectations, raising the prospect that central banks will keep policy tight for longer. In previous episodes, this backdrop has supported Bitcoin’s role as a defensive crypto trade, with investors treating Bitcoin as the asset closest to a macro hedge within the sector.
This time, Ethereum delivers stronger performance. The difference points to capital flowing toward blockchain-specific themes related to Ethereum’s market structure, network activity, and positioning among institutional investors, rather than a broad movement toward crypto as a refuge from geopolitical stress.
Asset management company Matrxiport said:
“Ethereum is increasingly behaving like a financial asset… These dynamics may also help explain why crypto has recently shown relative strength against other asset classes and does not fit neatly into the traditional risk-on/risk-off framework.”
Wall Street money returns to Ethereum
Wall Street is sending new capital into Ethereum at a pace that is contributing to the token’s recent outperformance.
Data from SoSoValue shows that the nine ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) received more than $160 million in net inflows last week, their strongest weekly inflows since mid-January. The trend continued into the new week, with the funds raising another $35.9 million on March 16.
That flow pattern has helped institutional demand return to ETH after a period of weaker sentiment.
Typically, sustained inflows of that magnitude have previously preceded some of the asset’s sharper price moves, including rallies that pushed ETH above $4,000.
So the latest allocations suggest that portfolio managers are once again increasing their exposure as the market expands beyond Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, a second shift is also shaping the investment case. Regulated products that provide exposure to Ethereum network revenues open a new route for traditional financial investors.
BlackRock recently launched an Ethereum staking ETF under the ticker ETHB, giving investors access to both price exposure and validator rewards. The fund raised $104.7 million in seed capital in its first two trading days and attracted more than $45.7 million in additional inflows.
That structure gives portfolio managers a way to evaluate ETH against its cash flow potential and network-based returns, a framework that can bring more weight to allocators who need income generation as part of holding alternative assets.
At the same time, corporate buyers are building Ethereum positions on their balance sheets.
Since last year, BitMine has been aggressively growing its ETH treasury and said it plans to acquire up to 5% of the token’s supply.
The pace of these purchases has increased this month, with the company purchasing more than 100,000 ETH in the first two weeks, bringing total company holdings to almost 4.6 million Ether as of mid-March.
That buying creates a steady layer of demand that mirrors the treasury strategy that several publicly traded companies used to accumulate Bitcoin earlier in the cycle.
Speculative interest is gradually returning to ETH
Speculative demand is showing signs of returning to ETH as institutional buying strengthens.
CryptoQuant facts showed that derivatives positioning in the digital asset market was reset after the October 10 flash crash, when approximately $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in 24 hours.
On Binance, Ethereum’s estimated leverage ratio fell 27% in the wake of this move, indicating a broad reduction in speculative exposure.
Since then, leverage has been gradually rebuilt. By mid-March, positioning had risen alongside an improvement in business sentiment, indicating that speculative participation was returning in a more measured manner than during earlier phases of the cycle.
Facts from BlockScholes adds to that image. The company’s ETH Risk-Appetite Index has risen from previous lows, indicating an increase in investor willingness to take exposure to the token as crypto market conditions stabilize.
Meanwhile, market structure data also points to lower direct selling pressure on the digital asset.
CryptoQuant facts shows that 30-day inflows from Ethereum to Binance have fallen to around $20.2 billion, the lowest level since May 2025. The decline in currency deposits suggests fewer tokens are being offered for sale on major centralized platforms, tightening liquidity as prices recover.
At the same time, more and more investors seem to be putting ETH into private wallets and entering into contracts. This shift reduces the number of tokens readily available for spot trading and makes the market more responsive to new buying activity.
Ethereum’s blockchain fundamentals are also supporting a rally
Ethereum’s recent gains against Bitcoin indicate an increase in network activity, according to data from staking provider Everstake and other industry sources.
In a recent one reportEverstake said Ethereum is on track to post its strongest quarter of network usage in more than a year, even before the first quarter is complete.
The network has processed more than 150 million transactions and registered 27.7 million active addresses in the period so far, the report said. Both figures are above comparable quarterly figures for 2025.
The increase in activity is also reflected in the throughput of Ethereum’s base layer. Everstake said its network reached a record 2.52 million gases per second, a metric that points to higher usage of decentralized applications and other on-chain activities.
Part of that demand relates to Ethereum’s position in tokenized real-world assets, a segment that has attracted more attention from financial companies.
Facts from Token Terminal shows that Ethereum currently settles approximately $200 billion in tokenized financial instruments, giving it a 61% market share. That scale has helped keep Ethereum central to the issuance and settlement business as institutions move traditional assets onto blockchain-based rails.
The network’s offering profile is also part of the investment case. Since Ethereum switched to a proof-of-stake system, the rate of new ether issuance has remained below that of Bitcoin. according to to Leon Waidmann, head of research at Lisk.
Waidmann said Ethereum’s annual supply growth is about 0.24%, compared to about 1.28% for Bitcoin after the last halving.
Considering this, he said:
“Everyone calls Bitcoin ‘sound money.’ But looking at the numbers, ETH has the tighter monetary policy!”
Taken together, the data points to a market where Ethereum’s price strength is matched by higher usage, broader participation, and slower supply growth. For investors weighing the relative value of major digital assets, this combination is contributing to ETH’s recent outperformance.