- ETH hit the lowest price against BTC in the past 20 months.
- The altcoin price may rise in the first quarter due to the planned major upgrade.
AMBCrypto’s analysis of the ETH/BTC chart showed that the altcoin has fallen to the lowest level compared to Bitcoin [BTC] since May 2022.
According to data from TradingView, Ethereum’s [ETH] The price fell against BTC by 32.68% in the last 365 days. The past six months were no better: the price fell 18.80% to 0.048 BTC.
Source: TradingView
Fake endorsement falls in ETH’s favor
An important reason for the development is the optimism surrounding the Bitcoin ETF. Many market participants believe that the potential adoption of the Bitcoin ETFs would be great for the market.
This was also clearly visible in Bitcoin’s performance, which was up 170% by 2023. But on January 9, AMBCrypto reported how the US SEC’s X account had been compromised, prompting the hackers to announce that all spot ETFs had been approved.
This development led to an increase in volatility as prices rose and fell sharply within minutes. However, in all the commotion, ETH won.
At the time of writing, the price of ETH was $2,380. This was after the value rose 3.37% in the past 24 hours. The ETH/BTC value also changed, rising to 0.052 BTC – an increase of 2.05% against the number one cryptocurrency.
However, on a Year-To-Date (YTD) basis, Bitcoin has outperformed Ethereum. While ETH saw a 0.95% gain, Bitcoin saw a 4.05% jump since the new year started. As it stands now, ETH may not be able to dominate BTC anytime soon.
However, this depends on the SEC’s resolution. Before yesterday’s hack, some ETF applicants said the regulator would announce its decision on December 10.
But recent events sparked speculation that the resolution could be postponed again. If this happens, predictions that Bitcoin’s price would be higher could be shattered. However, if the SEC endorses them, ETH may find it difficult to displace BTC’s dominance.
It’s not a Bitcoin-only show for the first quarter
Despite the projection, there is a chance that the altcoin will have a dominant season in the first quarter of 2024. One reason for this is that the Ethereum Dencun upgrade would be completed between January and February.
The upgrade aims to improve the security and scalability of the Ethereum blockchain. However, data obtained van Santiment showed that development activity on the blockchain had slowed.
Development activities show the speed at which a project releases new features.
Source: Santiment
So the drop here implies that there hasn’t been much polish to Ethereum. However, as the Dencun Testnet draws closer, things may change for the better.
Realistic or not, here is the market cap of ETH in BTC terms
Should this be the case, ETH’s value could be affected and possibly turn bullish. AMBCrypto also compared the number of BTC and ETH holders.
At the time of writing, there were 112.18 million ETH holders. Bitcoin, on the other hand, had 52.64 million. This data showed that despite ETH’s inconsistencies, many players believe in its potential.