Crypto market analysts are increasingly optimistic about Ether’s (ETH) potential breakout against bitcoin (BTC), predicting new all-time highs for the second-largest cryptocurrency in the first quarter of 2025. Insights drawn from Ether’s historical performance during bitcoin halving cycles and other key metrics further suggest a bullish trend may be on the horizon for ETH.
The bitcoin halving effect on Ether
Bitcoin halving cycle has long been considered a major driver of price trends in the cryptocurrency market. Historically, ETH tends to underperform BTC in the months following a halving event, only to surge later. Analysts believe this pattern could repeat, with ETH positioned to gain momentum as bitcoin dominance wanes in the market.
The popular crypto analyst Venture Founder highlighted ETH’s correlation with the halving cycle in a X post, stating, “Every cycle, following the bitcoin halving, Ethereum underperformed BTC for no more than 8 months until it explodes against BTC.”
According to this historical trend, Ether is now entering its breakout phase per the update. Particularly, analysts predict that ETH/BTC ratio could surge to 0.39 in this cycle, signaling Ether’s growing strength against Bitcoin. Venture Founder added: “We are in the 8th month now. Right on track. Then ETH/BTC Ratio since halving goes to no less than 700% after, which for this cycle means ETH/BTC = 0.39”
Read also: What is bitcoin halving and why does it matter to crypto investors?
ETH traders eye $8,800 amid potential breakout pattern
Despite BTC’s record-breaking climb to over $106,000 on 16 December 2024 for the first time in history, ETH has struggled to sustain itself above the critical $4,000 level. However, chart analysis reveals a potential breakout pattern for ETH in the coming months.
The formation of an ascending triangle—a bullish technical indicator—on ETH’s daily chart suggests the cryptoasset may soon challenge its all-time high of $4,865. Pseudonymous crypto analyst the Long Investor noted, “A break above $4,100 next, and this could run to the ATH level. I am holding ETH until $8,800.”
Read also: Ether: Momentum builds amid spot Ether ETF inflows and bitcoin dominance decline.
Further supporting this bullish outlook is the reduction in leveraged long exposure in the crypto market. According to a joint report from Bybit and Block Scholes, last week’s market deleveraging indicates a reset in leveraged positions, potentially setting the stage for ETH’s price rally in the first quarter of 2025.
Bybit analysts reinforced this view, stating, “ETH shows strength in derivative markets as the price catch-up anticipation is in full swing.”
Ethereum records 8-month high level of new wallets created in December
Beyond technical indicators, ETH’s growing adoption is evident in the sharp rise in newly created wallets. Data from Santiment shows that December saw an average of over 130,000 Ethereum addresses created daily, the highest since April. This growth highlights renewed investor interest and increased participation in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Santiment wrote: “Ethereum is seeing an 8-month high level of new wallets created. With an average of 130.2K addresses newly popping up on the network every day so far in December, ETH is seeing renewed interest it hasn’t seen since April.”
Read also: Donald Trump’s win, Positive for Ethereum – ConsenSys CEO Joseph Lubin
Accordingly, VanEck, a global investment manager, has offered a more conservative price target for ETH, predicting it could peak at $6,000 during the current cycle. This price projection aligns with their BTC price target of $180,000 for 2025.
While ETH’s outlook is promising, BTC remains the standout performer in 2024. Coingecko data shows that BTC has delivered about 55% price gain over the past two months while ETH’s price has jumped about 49% within the same timeframe. This disparity shows BTC’s dominance (53.7% at the time of writing) in the crypto market, and its appeal as a more lucrative investment in the long term to both retail and institutional investors.
Moreover, for ETH to realize its ambitious price targets, it must first surpass the critical $4,100 resistance level. A failure to do so could limit its potential rally, despite broader market optimism. Recall that popular blockchain analysis platform IntoTheBlock recently shared five indicators to watch for ETH’s next move after the asset’s market cap topped Bank of America’s. ETH is trading at $3,900 at the time of writing, up 1.25% in the past 24 hours.
Read also: 5 indicators to watch for Ether’s next move
Ndianabasi Tom A Petroleum Engineering degree holder, Ndianabasi’s interest since 2018 has been studying the ever-growing field of blockchain and cryptocurrency, keenly evaluating the innovation, exploration, and expansion of this field locally and globally. The founder of Nitadel a media platform, Ndianabasi has been a Writer at Crypto Asset Buyer (CAB) since 2021. When he is not drilling resources in the blockchain and cryptocurrency field, Ndianabasi is singing, reading, watching crime movies, or playing football.
