Ethereum overtakes Bitcoin as tensions between the United States, Israel and Iran continue to shape global markets.
Data from CryptoSlate shows that ETH is up 18% against the dollar since the beginning of March, compared to a 13% gain for Bitcoin over the same period.
The ETH/BTC ratio also increased, from 0.0293 to 0.0315 in less than three weeks, from 7.6% to 0.0315, a sign that Ethereum is gaining ground against Bitcoin rather than simply rising alongside it.
The move pushed ETH above $2,300 and left it on track for its first positive monthly close since August 2025. The move stands out because it comes amid pressure in global macro markets, where the risk of conflict and rising energy prices have begun to reshape expectations for inflation and monetary policy.
The military conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran pushed Brent crude above $102 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate topped $95. Energy markets are increasingly pricing in the risk of disruption in the Strait of Hormuz, a shipping route that carries about a fifth of global flows of oil and liquefied natural gas.
Rising oil prices have often fueled inflation expectations, raising the possibility that central banks will maintain restrictive policy for longer. In previous episodes, this context has tended to support Bitcoin’s role as a defensive crypto exchange, with investors treating it as the closest asset to a macro hedge within the sector.
This time, Ethereum offers better performance. The divergence indicates that capital is flowing into blockchain-specific themes related to Ethereum’s market structure, network activity and positioning among institutional investors, rather than a broad shift to crypto as a refuge from geopolitical stress.
Asset management company Matrxiport said:
“Ethereum is behaving more and more like a financial asset… This dynamic may also help explain why crypto has recently shown relative strength compared to other asset classes and does not fit neatly into the traditional risk increase/aversion framework.”
Wall Street money returns to Ethereum
Wall Street is sending new capital to Ethereum at a pace that is contributing to the token’s recent outperformance.
Data from SoSoValue shows that ETH’s nine spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw more than $160 million in net inflows last week, their largest weekly inflows since mid-January. The trend continued into the new week, with funds withdrawing another $35.9 million on March 16.
This flow pattern adds to institutional demand returning to ETH after a period of weaker sentiment.
Typically, sustained inflows of this magnitude have preceded some of the asset’s sharpest price swings, including rallies that took ETH above $4,000.
So, the latest allocations suggest that portfolio managers are once again increasing their exposure as the market expands beyond Bitcoin.
At the same time, a second shift is also shaping investment arguments. Regulated products that provide exposure to the performance of the Ethereum network open a new avenue for traditional financial investors.
BlackRock recently launched an Ethereum staking ETF under the ticker ETHB, giving investors access to both price exposure and validator rewards. The fund raised $104.7 million in seed capital and attracted more than $45.7 million in additional inflows in its first two trading days.
This structure gives portfolio managers a way to value ETH through network-based cash flow potential and yield, a framework that may carry more weight with allocators who need to generate income from holding alternative assets.
At the same time, acquiring companies are building Ethereum positions on their balance sheets.
Since last year, BitMine has aggressively increased its ETH treasury and announced plans to acquire up to 5% of the token supply.
The pace of these purchases has accelerated this month, with the company purchasing more than 100,000 ETH in the first two weeks, bringing the company’s total holdings to nearly 4.6 million Ether as of mid-March.
This purchase creates steady demand that echoes the cash flow strategy several public companies used to accumulate Bitcoin earlier in the cycle.
Speculative interest is gradually returning to ETH
Speculative demand is showing signs of returning to ETH as institutional buying strengthens.
Data from CryptoQuant showed that the positioning of derivatives in the digital asset market was reset after the October 10 flash crash, when around $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated in 24 hours.
On Binance, Ethereum’s estimated leverage ratio fell 27% following the move, indicating a broad reduction in speculative exposure.
Since then, the debt has gradually been replenished. By mid-March, positioning had increased alongside an improvement in trader sentiment, indicating that speculative participation was returning in a more measured manner than in earlier phases of the cycle.
Data from BlockScholes adds to this picture. The company’s ETH Risk Appetite Index has climbed from previous lows, signaling a resumption of investors’ willingness to gain exposure to the token as conditions in the crypto market stabilize.
At the same time, market structure data also indicates a decrease in immediate selling pressure on the digital asset.
CryptoQuant data shows that 30-day Ethereum flows to Binance fell to around $20.2 billion, the lowest level since May 2025. The decline in exchange deposits suggests that fewer tokens are being offered for sale on major centralized sites, tightening liquidity as prices recover.
At the same time, more investors appear to be moving ETH into private wallets and staking contracts. This change reduces the volume of tokens readily available for spot trading and makes the market more responsive to new purchasing activity.
Ethereum blockchain fundamentals also support a rally
Ethereum’s recent gains against Bitcoin follow an uptick in network activity, according to data from staking provider Everstake and other industry sources.
In a recent report, Everstake said that Ethereum was on track to post its strongest quarter of network usage in over a year, before the first quarter even ended.
The network has processed more than 150 million transactions so far during this period and registered 27.7 million active addresses, the report said. Both figures are higher than comparable quarterly figures seen throughout 2025.
The increase in activity is also reflected in the throughput of the Ethereum base layer. Everstake said the network reached a record 2.52 million gas per second, a metric indicating higher usage in decentralized applications and other on-chain activities.
Part of this demand is linked to Ethereum’s position in real-world tokenized assets, a segment that has attracted more attention from financial companies.
Data from Token Terminal shows that Ethereum currently settles around $200 billion in tokenized financial instruments, giving it a 61% market share. This scale has helped keep Ethereum at the center of issuance and settlement activities as institutions move traditional assets onto blockchain-based rails.
The network supply profile is also part of the investment case. Since Ethereum moved to a proof-of-stake system, the pace of issuance of new ether has remained lower than that of Bitcoin, according to Leon Waidmann, head of research at Lisk.
Waidmann said Ethereum’s annualized supply growth is around 0.24%, compared to around 1.28% for Bitcoin after its last halving.
Considering this, he said:
“Everyone calls Bitcoin “sound money.” But in numbers, ETH has the strictest monetary policy! »
Overall, the data points to a market where Ethereum’s price strength is accompanied by higher usage, broader participation, and a slower rate of supply growth. For investors evaluating the relative value of major digital assets, this combination helps support ETH’s recent outperformance.
