JPMorgan

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Momentum

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A trend that has defined crypto markets since 2023 is still firmly in place, according to JPMorgan — and nothing on the horizon looks strong enough to break it.
Analysts led by managing director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said in a new report that <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin</a> continues to outperform E<a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ther</a> and altcoins across nearly every institutional metric, even as the broader crypto market rebounds from the selloff tied to the Iran conflict earlier this year.
<blockquote>
 "And this underperformance trend that started in 2023 is unlikely to change unless we see meaningful improvements in network activity, DeFi and real world applications," the JPMorgan analysts led by managing director Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou said in a report, <a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/401349/jpmorgan-bitcoin-ether-altcoins-crypto" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">as quoted</a> by The Block.
</blockquote>
The report comes as Bitcoin trades around $79,500 — still well below its highs but significantly recovered from the lows triggered by U.S.-Iran escalation. Ether, meanwhile, hovers near $2,260.
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/jpmorgan-predicts-a-30b-bitcoin-buy-is-happening-this-year" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: JPMorgan predicts a $30B Bitcoin buy is happening this year</a>
<h2 id="bitcoin-s-institutional-lead-keeps-growing">Bitcoin's institutional lead keeps growing</h2>
The clearest sign of divergence is in ETF flows. Spot <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/billionaire-godfather-has-a-blunt-warning-on-bitcoin" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Bitcoin ETFs</a> have recovered roughly two-thirds of the outflows they experienced during the selloff. Spot ether ETFs have only recovered about one-third.
Futures data from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange tells the same story. Bitcoin futures positioning has nearly recovered from previous declines, while ether futures positioning remains below earlier levels.
Momentum traders — including commodity trading advisors and crypto quant funds — are still slightly underweight both Bitcoin and ether after last October's deleveraging event, according to the report. But the gap in recovery speed between the two is hard to ignore.
JPMorgan's broader outlook for 2026 remains positive. The bank expects crypto inflows to surpass the <a href="https://www.theblock.co/post/385670/jpmorgan-crypto-inflows-2026-record-130-billion-2025" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$130 billion that flowed into digital assets in 2025</a>, driven increasingly by institutional investors rather than retail.
<h3 id="jpmorgan-questions-impact-of-upcoming-ethereum-upgrades">JPMorgan questions impact of upcoming Ethereum upgrades</h3>
The report raised doubts about whether Ethereum's upcoming upgrades will meaningfully close the gap with Bitcoin.
Two major upgrades are on Ethereum's 2026 roadmap: Glamsterdam, targeted for mid-2026, introduces enshrined proposer-builder separation and block-level access lists aimed at scaling Layer 1 throughput. Hegota, slated for late 2026, will implement Verkle Trees to cut node storage requirements by up to 90%.
Both are technically significant. But JPMorgan's analysts pointed out that Ethereum upgrades over the past three years have not meaningfully increased network activity. Instead, they primarily reduced Layer 2 transaction costs — which improved scalability but also reduced fees on the main network and weakened the token burn mechanism, leading to higher net supply growth and weaker price support for ether.
<h3 id="trending-on-thestreet-roundtable">Trending on TheStreet Roundtable:</h3>
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<blockquote>
 "It remains to be seen whether these coming improvements can succeed in boosting network activity or at least drive enough demand growth to offset the continued reduction in Ethereum's burn mechanism and resulting net supply increase," the analysts said.
</blockquote>
<h2 id="altcoins-continue-facing-pressure">Altcoins continue facing pressure</h2>
The report also noted that altcoins have struggled against Bitcoin since 2023 because of weaker liquidity conditions and slower growth across decentralized finance activity.
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/jpmorgan-has-a-blunt-new-message-for-gold-investors" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">JPMorgan</a> said lower market depth and breadth, along with repeated hacks and security breaches across the crypto industry, have also weighed on investor sentiment.
"All these factors have eroded confidence in the broader <a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/what-crypto-investors-should-know-about-altcoins" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">altcoin ecosystem</a> and discouraged the deployment of fresh capital," the analysts said.
The one catalyst that could shift the dynamic is regulation. The <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Clarity Act</a> — the market structure bill that defines which digital assets fall under the SEC and which under the CFTC — cleared the Senate Banking Committee on May 14 with a bipartisan 15-9 vote. JPMorgan has said the passage of legislation like this could trigger fresh institutional activity around crypto VC funding, M&amp;A, IPOs, and adoption of digital assets by traditional financial institutions.
<a href="https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/markets/peter-thiel-backed-stock-suffers-after-missing-earnings-report" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Related: Peter thiel-backed stock suffers after missing earnings report</a>

JPMorgan sees one clear winner in crypto right now

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