CMC News

$ETH Futures Surge Past $BTC as ETF Flows Diverge

$ETH futures volume reached $49.4 billion in 24 hours, surpassing $BTC's $42.9 billion as speculative interest shifts toward the second-largest cryptocurrency. This surge contrasts sharply with exchange-traded fund capital flows favoring #Bitcoin.

U.S. spot $BTC ETFs attracted $1.39 billion in inflows over 10 days, while $ETH ETFs experienced $668 million in outflows during the same period. The divergence highlights rotational trading between institutional and speculative investors ahead of key macroeconomic events.

Stephen Gregory from Vtrader attributes the shift to potential Federal Reserve half-point rate cuts driving flows toward #Ethereum and altcoins. #Altcoins' share of total trading volume jumped to 50% this week from 40% consolidation levels.

$BTC volume dominance fell to 21% from 31% as traders position for a Q3 uptrend led by alternative cryptocurrencies. Gregory links strong $BTC ETF inflows to "FOMO trading from new wealth managers finally allowed to allocate capital."

Year-to-date performance shows $ETH gaining 31% compared to $BTC's 19%. Options market data reveals a more tempered outlook with low implied volatility despite upcoming rate decisions.

GreeksLive's Adam Chu notes that consensus around 25-basis-point rate cuts is already factored into pricing. The #options market maintains "relatively low future volatility" expectations with favorable fourth-quarter sentiment remaining intact.