Ether Favored in Crypto Rotation as Bitcoin Recoils Off $100K Sell Wall

Traders
are
rotating
profits
as
bitcoin’s
rally
stalled
out,
allowing
the
second
largest
crypto
to
shine
for
at
least
a
little
bit.

Nov
25,
2024,
8:34 p.m.

After
a
prolonged
downtrend
relative
to
bitcoin
(BTC),
Ethereum’s
ether
(ETH)
is
showing
signs
of
a
resurgence.

ETH,
the
second-largest
cryptocurrency
on
the
market,
gained
over
4%
in
the
past
24
hours,
while
BTC
lost
1.5%
during
the
same
time,
dipping
below
$95,000
during
the
Monday
session.
ETH
even
outperformed
the
broad-market

CoinDesk
20
Index,
which
was
up
0.5%.

The
outperformance
happened
as
investors
started
to

rotate
capital
to
smaller,
riskier
cryptocurrencies
over
the
weekend
following
the
stall
of
bitcoin’s
near-vertical
surge
since
Donald
Trump’s
election
victory.
The
ETH/BTC
ratio,
which
measures
ether’s
strength
vs.
bitcoin,
plummeted
to
as
low
as
0.0318
on
Thursday,
its
weakest
reading
since
March
2021,
but
the
gague
has
gained
15%
since
to
0.3660
at
press
time.

“The
market
seems
to
be
expecting
BTC
to
trade
sideways
until
December
as
attention
shifts
towards
ETH
in
the
near
term,”
digital
asset
hedge
fund
QCP
said
in
a
Monday
note.

On
the
options
markets,
ETH
risk
reversals
are
heavily
skewed
in
favor
of
frontend
calls,
meanwhile
BTC
calls
seem
to
be
more
bid
only
from
the
end
of
December
2024
onwards,
QCP
noted.
The
positioning
implies
that
traders
anticipate
ether
to
perform
well
in
the
short-term,
while
bitcoin
could
pick
up
pace
next
year.
Risk
reversal
is
a
strategy
that
involves
purchasing
simultaneously
a
call
option
(bullish
bet)
and
a
put
option
(bearish
bet)
for
a
specific
risk-reward
profile.

ETH
poised
for
a
rebound
vs.
bitcoin

“We’re
seeing
some
rotation
from
BTC
to
ETH
coming
from
crypto-native
hedge
funds
and
family
offices,”
Joshua
Lim
from
Arbelos
Markets
said.”
Josh
Lim,
co-founder
of
crypto
derivatives
prime
brokerage
firm
Arbelos
Markets,
said
in
a
telegram
message.

U.S.-listed
spot
ETH
ETFs
saw
their
first
net
inflows
on
Friday,
led
by
$99
million
allocation
into
BlackRock’s
ETHA
product,
following
six
days
of
continuous
outflows,

data
compiled
by
Farside
Investors
shows.
Holders
of
ETHA
include
“the
largest
names
in
finance”
including
$80
billion
hedge
fund
Millenium,
analytics
firm
Kaiko
said
in
a
Monday
report.

There
could
be
more
gains
in
store
for
ether
against
bitcoin
in
the
coming
period.
The
ETH/BTC
ratio
hit
a
key
support
level
on
Thursday
and
rebounded,
while
last
week’s
candle
suggested
a
trend
reversal,
well-followed
crypto
trader
Pentoshi
noted.

“Quite
possible
the
low
is
in
here
and
that
at
least
a
short
term
reversal
is
coming,”
Pentoshi
said
in
an

X
post.

Bitcoin
Stalls
at
$100K

Now
extended
far
above
its
daily
moving
averages,
bitcoin
is
likely
trade
sideways
for
a
while
as
investors
digest
the
steep
rally
since
Donald
Trump’s
election
victory,
said
Paul
Howard,
senior
director
at
crypto
trading
firm
Wincent.

“There
is
a
significant
sell
wall
at
the
psychological
$100K
level,”
Howard
told
CoinDesk.
“I
would
expect
we
oscillate
around
these
levels
until
the
new
year.
Staying
market
neutral
and
buying
downside
protection
here
is
always
a
sensible
risk
reward,”
he
added.