Ethereum’s outlook has been improving its case. After a prolonged period of underperformance and skepticism, the network is starting to exhibit signs of renewed structural and fundamental strength. While BTC continues to anchor the market as the primary store of value and digital gold, conditions are emerging that could allow ETH to outperform BTC over the coming period. Why The Ethereum Narrative Is Gaining Strength Ethereum has been seen outperforming Bitcoin. In a recent post on X, Walter Bloomberg revealed that Standard Chartered says that the ETH outlook has improved, and now ETH might outperform BTC, citing rising institutional demand and stronger fundamental positioning across key on-chain sectors. Related Reading: Altcoin Season In Q1? Bitcoin, Ethereum Breakdown Maps Out Performance While weakness in BTC has weighed on the broader crypto market, ETH has continued to benefit from institutional-driven demand, and its dominance in stablecoins, decentralized finance (DeFi), and real-world assets (RWA) tokenization. Standard Chartered also points to the increased throughput and potential US regulatory clarity that it could provide additional upside. In terms of valuation, the bank forecasts ETH at $7,500 this year and $30,000 by 2029, reflecting the expectations of sustained network growth. The Co-founder of PinkBrains_io, a DeFi Creator Studio, DefiIgnas, has highlighted that Ethereum could outperform Bitcoin this year, and the reason is roadmap execution. While BTC will likely keep facing recurring waves of quantum FUD into 2026, ETH has a clear roadmap to prepare for future cryptographic risks. Furthermore, ETH is actually scaling. Gas limits on layer 1 keep rising, and zkEVMs will get full production readiness, making ETH cheap and fast enough for high-value transactions, while layer 2s will handle most of the trading and high-frequency activity. Related Reading: Bitcoin And Ethereum Market Structure Points To Crypto Winter – Details These upgrades are incremental, which means there’s no breaking news moment for ETH, but progress is happening fast. Early in the cycle, a lot of Degens loaded up on ETH before the bull run, but many got disillusioned and sold their ETH for BTC. “It would be fun to see the playbook reverse higher,” DefiIgnas noted. A Different Liquidity Cycle Than Previous Bull Markets Crypto liquidity quality witnessed a change in 2025. A technical analyst and show host of Crypto Banter, Kyledoops, reported that Wintermute noted that capital in 2025 stopped rotating broadly across the market. Instead, liquidity is concentrated into Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a small group of large-cap tokens. As a result, the long-anticipated wave of altcoin-wide liquidity never really arrived. Meanwhile, the rise of spot ETFs and crypto treasury vehicles created a new, highly structured inflow channel that funneled flow into the top of the market. These vehicles break the crypto’s oldest playbooks. Price action is no longer driven by broad market expansion. It’s driven by where new liquidity can actually enter. Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com
As global geopolitical tensions intensify from trade fragmentation and sanctions to regional conflicts and currency weaponization, Bitcoin is increasingly emerging as a hedge outside the reach of politics. In an environment where traditional financial systems are shaped by state power and cross-border capital controls, BTC’s decentralized design is drawing renewed attention as a form of monetary insurance in an increasingly unstable world. Bitcoin’s Performance During Periods Of Instability The geopolitical tension may boost Bitcoin. Walter Bloomberg has noted on X that BTC’s recent rebound suggests rising geopolitical tensions are increasingly pushing investors toward cryptocurrencies. Walter made reference to 21Shares strategist Matt Mena’s statement, who stated that BTC is gaining recognition as a neutral reserve asset, alongside traditional safe havens such as gold and silver. Related Reading: Bitcoin Supply Is Being Absorbed By Powerful Financial Players — What This Means After falling more than 6% last year, BTC has historically avoided back-to-back annual declines, supporting the case for gains this year. BTC was last down 0.3% at $93,740, after reaching a seven-week high of $94,725 on Monday, underscoring its resilience amid heightened global uncertainty. Considering most of the world is ecstatic with 8% annual returns, an analyst known as Juicy pointed out that the idea of doubling your money in one or two years is already an exceptional outcome for most average people. The hard truth is that most people will never hold their BTC long enough before they cash out 3 to 5 times their money, especially when BTC is down 50% in a bear market, because most people are emotionally attached to their money. Generational wealth with BTC is made by holding through multiple 50% bear market drawdowns across decades. The expert stated that his strategy is never to fully sell BTC, but to sell small portions at basic milestones like $250,000, $500,000, and $1 million, or even $10 million, while the main stack will not be sold. Extreme Supply And The Shift In Spot Momentum A trader known as DD highlighted that BTC traded directly into extreme supply just below Monday’s high and was aggressively rejected from there. This move was followed by a sharp push lower and was driven by heavy spot selling, confirming that this area remains a significant supply zone rather than a breakout point. Related Reading: Bitcoin Risks A Year-Long Bear Market If This Happens: On-Chain Data DD recalled the weak weekly low, a level that has now been cleared. The market is now in a phase where the response matters more than a continuation. If the price begins to form local accumulation inside demand, that would present an opportunity to look for long exposure. On the other hand, if BTC bounces back into supply and shows clear signs of weakness, then the short setup will also remain valid. Structurally, losing the $91,000 level will open the door towards the weak monthly low around $87,800, which stands out as the next downside level. Featured image from Pixabay, chart from Tradingview.com