The market structure is changing: Ethereum is ready to return to ATH

In less than two weeks into Q3, Ethereum (ETH) has shown superior performance compared to Bitcoin (BTC). From an opening level of 2,468 USD, ETH has increased by 18.63% – double the profit margin of BTC in the same period.

Although the surge of Bitcoin has triggered a "risk-on" trend ( accepting risk ), the dominance of Ethereum is not merely a shift in capital to higher beta assets, but also reflects the differentiation in market structure. Ethereum is actively leveraging volatility, turning it from risk into a strategic lever to explore prices.

Market volatility becomes a strategic advantage

The third peak formation of Bitcoin this year is not only driven by market momentum but also thanks to the positioning of the structure. Currently, about 10.2% of the total 21 million BTC is held by institutions, governments, and enterprises – entities that tend not to sell during fluctuations.

This plays a very important role because every time the market "fluctuates", an additional portion of BTC is "locked up", thereby increasing the upward price pressure.

And Ethereum is also heading in a similar structural direction. In the last 30 days, the net issuance of ETH was only 73,202 ETH, while ETH ETFs attracted a net inflow of 725,000 ETH – which means the demand is 10 times higher than the supply.

Source: Ultrasound.moneyIt is noteworthy that a huge amount of capital is being poured into ETF funds while ETH is adjusting more than 20% after reaching a local peak of nearly 2,800 USD. While retail investors are worried, institutions continue to buy in – similar to when ETH hit a low of nearly 1,385 USD earlier in this cycle.

In other words, the "smart money" group is viewing the price fluctuations of ETH as a buying opportunity, while the rest of the market is still hesitant. So is this dominance just a short-term advantage?

A new price discovery phase is forming

The impact of changes in market structure is clearly reflected in the price behavior of ETH. Since June 22, ETH has increased by 40%, double the 20% increase of BTC during the same period.

Ethereum has broken through the resistance level of 2,800 USD – a level not seen since early February – despite the number of whale wallets decreasing by 15% in the past 30 days.

So who is absorbing the selling pressure and that volatility? It is the capital flow from institutions. Wall Street firms are accelerating their approach to ETH ETF funds, with Goldman Sachs leading with 6.5 million shares of ETHA – worth 128 million USD.

Source: XCurrently, the top 5 organizations hold over 288 million USD exposure to ETH, clearly demonstrating the increasing level of trust from traditional finance. This has turned price volatility from a risk into an imbalance supply and demand equation – skewed towards a lack of supply and pushing ETH further into the actual price discovery phase.

With the current supply-demand structure, combined with the increasingly evident support from institutional capital, ETH is positioned very well to close the remaining 40% gap to its historical peak faster than the market's expectations.

Not only does it outperform Bitcoin in terms of ROI, but ETH also possesses macro momentum, increasing institutional cash flow, and a low issuance strategy, along with rising demand – all of which create a sustainable foundation for the next rally. If this trend continues, it is entirely possible for Ethereum to return to or surpass its previous peak – and it could happen much sooner than many think.

Justin