ETH beats BTC in long-term holder retention throughout 2024: ITB

Long-term participation trends in the crypto market took an intriguing turn this year, as Ethereum overtook Bitcoin in retaining these investors.

Despite Bitcoin’s 122% rise compared to Ethereum’s 48% growth last year, the rise of long-term holders of the latter highlighted the market’s increased confidence in as 2025 approaches.

Ethereum shows stronger long-term holder retention

According to data from IntoTheBlock, the percentage of long-term Ether (ETH) holders has consistently exceeded that of Bitcoin (BTC) investors throughout 2024. The year-to-date trend indicates a decreasing proportion of Bitcoin holders in the long term, which is currently maintained. in a little more than 62%.

On the other hand, long-term ETH holders started the year with a notable increase, outperforming their BTC counterparts early on and stabilizing at 75.06%. This divergence in investor behavior, with Ethereum seeing stronger retention among long-term participants compared to Bitcoin over the past year.

This change comes even though Ethereum did not reach its highest price like Bitcoin. However, it is important to note that the world’s largest altcoin saw many other developments. For example, spot ETFs on Ether received approval, which sparked interest without causing a significant price increase. Anthony Sassano, a leading Ethereum advocate and educator, projected that Ether ETFs could see net inflows in excess of $50 billion by 2025.

In addition to making crypto a key part of his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump also backed the DeFi platform “World Liberty Financial,” which is built on Ethereum. This reflects that Ethereum is a strong contender in the DeFi space despite a plethora of alternatives.

On the technology side, Ethereum became more affordable after Dencun’s upgrade, which introduced proto-danksharding that involves lowering transaction fees in layer 2 solutions to provide users with faster and cheaper alternatives on the main network.

Bitcoin in the accumulation zone?

Meanwhile, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index, which measures market sentiment, fell to 65 on Dec. 30, the lowest since Oct. 15, amid Bitcoin’s more than 12% drop to 93,000 dollars over the past two weeks. After reaching a high of 94 in November, the index remained above 70 until December, boosted by optimism about the election results in the pro-crypto United States before the recent decline.

However, author James Williams stated that Bitcoin has re-entered its accumulation zone and that a possible accumulation phase could be ahead of a major price move. The investor predicted a consolidation period of a few weeks, which could pave the way for a breakout. Confident in Bitcoin’s trajectory, he predicted a price of $131,500 or more by the first quarter of 2025, calling it “inevitable.”

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