People Are Trading Ether More, Bitcoin Less
Exchange balances for ETH and BTC move in opposite directions in a new insight into investor sentiment. Ether (ETH) is trading at its highest since before the March coronavirus crash, but data suggests that investors have little interest in holding the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
Uploading findings using on-chain monitoring resource Glassnode on July 10, one trader noticed that Ether exchange balances remain high, while Bitcoin (BTC) balances have dropped considerably.
BTC, ETH exchange balances diverge
According to the unverified data, since March, ETH balances on exchanges have continued to trend upward overall. At the same time, BTC has been leaving exchanges en masse over the past three months.
“Ever since the Black Thursday crash, Bitcoin balances on crypto exchanges have been falling quite fast. On the other hand, Ethereum exchange balances continue to remain relatively stable,” the trader summarized.
The phenomenon could have several implications. Coins on exchanges are more vulnerable but quicker to trade, suggesting that owners store them there to sell at short notice.
As Cointelegraph reported previously, BTC traders have shown a preference for saving in recent months, rather than selling or trading.
On Ethereum, the network for which Ether is the native token, the current DeFi trend may also be influencing investors. The decentralized finance sector has sparked a token boom and associated trading, and as ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum, ETH is required for transactions.
ETH would make a suitable “home” asset for DeFi traders given its recent low volatility in the run-up to its fifth birthday.
Buzzword altseason
Meanwhile, ETH/BTC correlation has risen in the short term, while a longer trend has seen ETH remain fairly constant as a percentage of BTC price, data from Skew shows.
Meanwhile, talk of a new “altseason” — a period of growth and profitability in altcoins — continues to gather pace. Among those forecasting a new alt gold rush is Peter Brandt, the trading stalwart who eyed ETH gains over BTC this week.
“Most alts should gain on #bitcoin in near future,” he summarized.
Zooming out beyond DeFi, major altcoins still remain at a fraction of their all-time highs from more than two years ago. ETH once traded at almost $1,400, but has failed to recapture more than 20% of those levels since. BTC, on the other hand, currently sits at around 50% of its all-time highs.
Top Cryptocurrencies with Price Predictions
| # | Crypto | Prediction | Accuracy | CVIX | Price | 24h | 7d | Market Cap | 7d price change | |
| 1 |  BTC |
Bitcoin predictions | 85.2% | 25 | $58 212.93 | -2.74% | 2.96% | $1 149 991 835 476 |  |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 |  ETH |
Ethereum predictions | 76.4% | 46 | $2 306.12 | -3.33% | -1.66% | $277 517 977 475 |  |
|
| 3 |  USDT |
Tether predictions | 93.6% | 1 | $0.999674 | -0.05% | -0.04% | $118 746 447 563 |  |
|
| 4 |  BNB |
Binance Coin predictions | 78.8% | 33 | $535.38 | -3.78% | 3.59% | $78 130 067 520 |  |
|
| 5 |  SOL |
Solana predictions | 78.4% | 41 | $131.04 | -1.88% | -1.52% | $61 355 258 435 |  |
|
| 6 |  USDC |
USD Coin predictions | 94% | 1 | $0.999925 | 0% | -0.01% | $35 603 266 724 |  |
|
| 7 |  XRP |
XRP predictions | 76.4% | 37 | $0.579741 | -1.22% | 8.17% | $32 689 314 282 |  |
|
| 8 |  DOGE |
Dogecoin predictions | 83.6% | 28 | $0.099815 | -5.28% | -3.49% | $14 571 279 977 |  |
|
| 9 |  TON |
Toncoin predictions | 70.4% | 59 | $5.42 | -3.35% | 4.82% | $13 737 152 570 |  |
|
| 10 |  TRX |
TRON predictions | 86.8% | 23 | $0.148564 | -0.28% | -3.82% | $12 879 108 076 |  |
|
| 11 |  ADA |
Cardano predictions | 79.6% | 35 | $0.330572 | -3.88% | -3.76% | $11 887 575 348 |  |
|
| 12 |  STETH |
Lido stETH predictions | 95.2% | 1 | $2 941.39 | -0.40% | -3.32% | $10 258 752 564 |  |
|
| 13 |  WTRX |
Wrapped TRON predictions | 91.2% | 1 | $0.116354 | -0.46% | 0.23% | $10 171 995 609 |  |
|
| 14 |  WBTC |
Wrapped Bitcoin predictions | 94.8% | 1 | $65 806.83 | 0.78% | -2.68% | $10 083 957 608 |  |
|
| 15 |  AVAX |
Avalanche predictions | 74.8% | 52 | $23.50 | -3.94% | -2.49% | $9 536 183 213 |  |
