Reasons Behind Ethereum Outperformed Bitcoin in March

• Ethereum gained 13% over Bitcoin in March in a recent show of strength by the altcoin.
• An analyst believes ETH’s growing strength is structural and beyond just price action.
• The key drivers of Ethereum’s usage include stablecoins, DeFi, and tokenized assets.

Ethereum outperformed Bitcoin in March, as the altcoin gained approximately 13% on the flagship cryptocurrency, according to TradingView’s data. The ETHBTC weekly chart shows that the cryptocurrency pair surged from $0.02877 at the beginning of March to $0.03186, the monthly high, before closing the month at $0.03056. 

The Drivers of Ethereum’s Recent Surge

A CryptoQuant analyst identified specific factors they believe drove the capital rotation that boosted Ethereum’s strength. According to the analyst, the crypto market behavior of the past month reflects a structural change, which is a more enduring position than simple price action. 

It is worth noting that Bitcoin’s market cap declined slightly by -0.43% during the same period, while Ethereum’s grew by 2.97%. 

Besides price dominance and comparative growth in market cap, Ethereum also showed higher realized volatility than Bitcoin, reinforcing its role as a higher-beta asset. According to the analyst, ETH reacts more aggressively to shifts in liquidity and risk appetite compared to Bitcoin, effectively acting as a leveraged market beta.

Supply Dynamics Favor Ethereum

Of crucial importance is the supply dynamics, which also favors Ethereum. Using on-chain data, the analyst revealed that Ethereum experienced higher exchange outflows. He explained that the continuation of this phenomenon indicates reduced sell pressure and rising long-term holding. Typically, crypto users withdraw their assets from centralized exchanges and then store them in more secure cold storage facilities when they want to hold. 

The analyst specifically noted that the Coinbase Premium Gap remains negative but is improving, signaling early-stage recovery in U.S. demand. In the meantime, Active Addresses continue to trend higher, pointing to growing network usage.

ETH Price Movement Reflects an Early-Cycle Structure

According to him, the combination of the above-mentioned indicators suggests a typical early-cycle structure. He noted that although institutional demand is yet to return for Ethereum, the crypto asset’s real usage is already expanding. 

The analyst identified the key drivers of Ethereum’s usage to include stablecoins, DeFi, and tokenized assets. These are the elements that strengthen the cryptocurrency’s role as a financial infrastructure layer, unlike Bitcoin’s focus as a store-of-value.

In the meantime, the CryptoQuant analyst explained Ethereum’s sustained growth despite declining volume, which typically implies liquidity-driven price action. According to him, ETH currently benefits from simultaneous capital inflow, supply tightening, and ecosystem growth. He explained that such benefits position the cryptocurrency as a structurally stronger asset in the current phase, with potential to outperform further as liquidity conditions improve.

Related: A 20x Surge in RWAs and a $3 Billion ETF Influx Solidify Ethereum’s Market Dominance