ETH is capturing 32% of spot exchange volumes as traders rotate out of BTC, per data from CEXIO
Ethereum (ETH) has overtaken Bitcoin (BTC) in spot market trading volumes on major centralized exchanges (CEXs), capturing more than 32% of total activity this month – the highest level since August 2017, according to a new report from crypto exchange CEXIO.
Per the report, published today, Aug. 20, ETH’s dominance was even stronger on certain platforms. On CEXIO, for example, Ether accounts for 39% of weekly spot trades, up from 28% a month earlier. This surge was largely driven by transactions under $3,000, suggesting increased retail participation, the report noted.
“While riding a price rollercoaster, Ether quietly dethroned Bitcoin as the most-traded cryptocurrency in the spot market, signaling a decisive transition in trader attention,” the report reads. “Ether’s dominance in volume has also been increasing with each consecutive week, widening the difference with Bitcoin and other digital assets.”
ETH has had a strong rally in recent weeks, currently trading near $4,300, up 4% on the day, 18.5% in the past two weeks, and 12% over the past month, according to The Defiant’s price page. BTC is currently changing hands at $113,900, flat on both the day and fortnight, but up nearly 93% over the past year.
The recent price momentum has led to accelerated capital rotation into ETH throughout August, with the token recording a 23% increase in net position changes, CEXIO reported. Meanwhile Bitcoin’s net positions fell by roughly 43%.
“As a result, Ethereum has now overtaken Bitcoin in capital rotation, indicating that traders are reallocating funds toward ETH at Bitcoin’s expense as well,” the report explained.
However, the report cautioned that while this shift may support short-term gains for Ether, it could signal caution in the mid-term, “as such a development may mark the later stages of the market cycle.”
In the previous two cycles, the report said that Ethereum attracted proportionally more capital inflows than Bitcoin during the final months of the bull run, suggesting that the market could be heading toward a deeper correction.
ETF Inflows and Outflows
This comes as spot ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded around $3.5 billion in net inflows last week — surpassing the previous weekly record of $2.1 billion that was recorded in mid-July. ETH ETFs also broke their daily inflow record last week, attracting around $1.02 billion on Monday, Aug. 11, as The Defiant previously reported.
Spot BTC ETFs, on the other hand, had a much weaker week, attracting a net total of around $793 million inflows. These figures indicate that Wall Street’s focus has been shifting toward Ethereum as of late.
This week, both ETH and BTC ETFs have been recording only net outflows, so far. Specifically, BTC ETFs have experienced around $659 million in outflows, while ETH ETFs have recorded around $686 million in outflows, per SoSoValue.
Source: https://thedefiant.io/news/cefi/ether-tops-bitcoin-in-spot-trading-for-first-time-since-2017-report-says
