Glassnode, a market intelligence firm, has identified a key reason why Ethereum (ETH) has been trailing behind Bitcoin (BTC). According to their analysis, Ethereum has not experienced the same level of increased capital influx from new buyers that Bitcoin has seen in the current market cycle, which has propelled Bitcoin to new all-time highs.

Glassnode suggests that the approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) played a significant role in attracting short-term holders who purchased BTC in the last 155 days. The analysts note a noticeable increase in speculative activity leading up to Bitcoin’s all-time high on March 14th. They observed capital accumulation among short-term holders, with the total USD wealth held within coins moved within the last six months approaching $240 billion, nearing all-time highs. However, this trend has not been replicated for ETH, which has yet to surpass its 2021 all-time high.

While Bitcoin’s short-term holder-realized capitalization is nearly on par with the peak of the previous bull run, ETH’s short-term holder-realized capitalization has barely increased, indicating a lackluster influx of new capital. This discrepancy in new capital inflows reflects the underperformance of ETH compared to BTC. One possible explanation for this is the attention and accessibility brought about by spot Bitcoin ETFs.

The Realized Cap metric, which records the price at which each coin moved, is used to assess the number of holders in profit or at a loss.

According to the analysts, ETH could experience a significant capital inflow if the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approves spot Ethereum ETF applications later this month. They state, “The market is still awaiting the SEC’s decision for approval of a suite of ETH ETFs expected towards the end of May.”

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $61,454, experiencing a decline of over 2.6% in the last 24 hours. Meanwhile, Ethereum is trading at $2,970, down more than 2.7% for the day.

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