Ethereum’s Outlook Has Brightened: Why It Might Outperform Bitcoin

Ethereum's prospects are looking more promising. After a long stretch of underperformance and skepticism, the network is starting to show renewed strength both structurally and fundamentally. While Bitcoin (BTC) continues to be the mainstay of the market as the primary digital asset and store of value, developing conditions may allow Ethereum (ETH) to surpass Bitcoin's performance in the near future.

Key Takeaways

Improved Outlook: Ethereum shows signs of renewed strength, potentially allowing it to outperform Bitcoin.
Institutional Demand: Rising institutional interest and advancements in on-chain fundamentals bolster Ethereum's position.
Future Valuation: Standard Chartered forecasts ETH to reach $7,500 in 2023 and $30,000 by 2029.
Scalability and Upgrades: Ethereum's improvements in gas limits and layer 2 solutions enhance its transactional efficiency.
New Liquidity Dynamics: A shift in how capital is distributed in the crypto market favors larger assets like BTC and ETH, diverging from past market trends.

In summary, Ethereum's evolving landscape and strong demand might open doors for it to surpass Bitcoin in the foreseeable future.

Ethereum

Why Ethereum's Outlook Is Strengthening

Ethereum has been gaining traction compared to Bitcoin. In a recent post on X, Walter Bloomberg shared insights from Standard Chartered, which indicates that the outlook for ETH has improved. They suggest that Ethereum may outperform Bitcoin due to rising institutional demand and stronger fundamentals across crucial on-chain areas.

Despite Bitcoin's current struggles affecting the entire crypto market, Ethereum continues to attract institutional interest, particularly in areas such as stablecoins, decentralized finance (DeFi), and the tokenization of real-world assets (RWA).

Standard Chartered also highlights the potential for increased transaction throughput and possible regulatory clarity in the U.S., which could contribute to further gains for Ethereum. The bank projects that ETH could reach $7,500 by the end of this year and as high as $30,000 by 2029, anticipating sustained growth in the network.

DefiIgnas, Co-founder of PinkBrains_io—a DeFi creator studio—believes that Ethereum could exceed Bitcoin's performance in 2023 due to effective roadmap execution. While Bitcoin might face ongoing concerns about quantum risks until 2026, Ethereum has laid out a clear plan to address future cryptographic challenges.

Additionally, Ethereum is indeed scaling up, with gas limits on layer 1 increasing and zkEVMs approaching full operational readiness. This progress will make Ethereum efficient and cost-effective for high-value transactions, while layer 2 solutions will take care of the majority of trading and high-frequency activities.

Even though these upgrades are incremental, indicating that there may not be a single moment of breakthrough news for ETH, progress is occurring quickly. Many traders initially bought ETH in anticipation of a bull market but later became disenchanted and traded their ETH for BTC. DefiIgnas remarks, "It would be exciting to see roles reverse upward."

A New Liquidity Cycle

The quality of cryptocurrency liquidity has evolved in 2025. Kyledoops, a technical analyst and the host of Crypto Banter, reported insights from Wintermute indicating that capital in 2025 has stopped moving broadly across the market. Instead, liquidity is now concentrated in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a select few large-cap tokens. As a result, the eagerly awaited wave of liquidity across various altcoins has yet to materialize.

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Source: Chart from Kyledoops on X

Meanwhile, the emergence of spot ETFs and crypto treasury vehicles has created a new inflow channel to the top of the market. These vehicles are transforming traditional investment approaches in the crypto space. Currently, price movements are driven by the availability of new liquidity rather than broad market shifts.

Ethereum
ETH trading at $3,285 on the 1D chart | Source: ETHUSDT on Tradingview.com