Analyst Sees Ethereum Outperforming Bitcoin to New ATH First

ETH/BTC is holding local support with “untapped liquidity” to the upside, suggesting stronger upside potential for Ethereum than Bitcoin.

A crypto commentator is making the case that Ethereum (ETH) is positioned to outperform Bitcoin (BTC) and reclaim its all-time high (ATH) before the market leader does.

This view has emerged as both digital assets test crucial support levels following a sharp market-wide correction.

Technical Rationale

In a series of posts on X, analyst CrediBULL Crypto laid out a detailed argument for ETH’s potential outperformance. They suggested that Ethereum could find a market bottom shortly and then initiate a more powerful upward move than BTC.

This assessment points to two key chart observations: the ETH/BTC trading pair is holding local support with significant “untapped liquidity” to the upside, and individual Ethereum charts are showing a more favorable liquidity setup compared to Bitcoin.

“Combining these two, we can conclude that if we are to bottom here soon, then it’s more likely that ETH hits a new ATH before $BTC,” wrote the trader.

However, according to CrediBULL, many traders are dismissing this possibility due to an inability to analyze charts properly or because prevailing negative sentiment has clouded their judgment.

Supporting the idea of a potential market turnaround, fellow expert Michaël van de Poppe noted that the Crypto Fear & Greed Index recently hit its lowest point in nine months, signaling extreme fear. Based on historical data, such sentiment often comes right before a rebound.

Additionally, Van de Poppe confirmed that a key CME gap for Bitcoin, around $91,500, has been filled. From a technical perspective, the analyst highlighted that the gap between Bitcoin’s price and its 20-day moving average is quite large, which also usually precedes a bounce. As such, he anticipates a consolidation period before a continuation upward.

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Pressures Affecting ETH and BTC

Looking at the markets, Bitcoin is currently trading around $93,000, down some 11% for the week. Meanwhile, ETH has faced even greater pressure, changing hands near $3,150 after a 12% drop in the last seven days.

Different forces appear to drive this sell-off for each asset. For Ethereum, on-chain data reveals substantial selling from major holders, with a November 18 report showing that wallets holding 1,000 to 10,000 ETH sold approximately 230,000 coins over the past week, coinciding with the price fall from around $3,600 to just over $3,200.

Furthermore, a lack of new investors may be slowing momentum. An analysis from CryptoQuant indicates that new depositor activity on the Ethereum network has remained flat, even during its recent test of the $4,000-$5,000 range. This suggests the rally was fragile, likely driven by internal liquidity rather than new external demand.

At the same time, for BTC, the price difference between Coinbase Pro and Binance, known as the Coinbase Premium Gap, has fallen to -$90, near its lowest level this year. This indicates that retail traders on Binance are currently dominating the market, while institutional investors on Coinbase are inactive or selling. Such a shift often leads to increased volatility and selling pressure until larger buyers return.