The world’s most popular cryptocurrency is being outdone by its closest competitor in the last few weeks.
Bitcoin has rallied to record highs in recent months, but its performance has lagged behind ethereum. Ethereum’s price is up 54% over the last month, compared to bitcoin’s 10% increase.
Zack Shapiro, an attorney at the Bitcoin Policy Institute, told BI there were a handful of reasons ethereum has pulled ahead in recent weeks.
“I think a lot of it is that it’s a speculation trade,” he said of ethereum’s latest rally. “Long term, we have to see.”
Here are some of the things Shapiro thinks are driving the fervor for ethereum.
Bullish for stablecoins
Markets are enthusiastic about stablecoins after the passing of the GENIUS Act, the Senate’s landmark bill that sets the terms surrounding stablecoin regulation and opens the door for more issuers to mint their own fiat-backed tokens.
Tether, USD Coin, Binance USD, and other top stablecoins on the crypto market are issued on the Ethereum network.
“People think that stablecoins might proliferate a lot more. Maybe some of those stablecoins will be on ethereum,” Shapiro said of the market’s psychology.
Retail giants like Walmart and Amazon are reportedly considering their own stablecoins, and using the tokens for retail payments would be a “big breakthrough” for the market, according to Apollo chief economist Torsten Sløk.
Support from ETFs
Shapiro says institutional investors have also recently offered ethereum ETFs, another factor driving inflows into the token.
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BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale are among the firms that now offer a spot ethereum ETF.
BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF is up 48.9% over the last month. Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund is up 33.1%, while Grayscale’s Ethereum Mini Trust ETF is up 49.2% over that time frame.
Cumulative spot ethereum ETF volumes rose to $123.5 billion as of Wednesday, according to data compiled by The Block.
Corporate buyers
Corporate crypto treasuries have also proliferated in 2025, and recently, many have been scooping up ethereum.
Bitmine Immersion, one such crypto treasury, said last week it raised its ethereum holdings to over $2 billion.
The Ether Machine, another crypto treasury firm, said on Wednesday that its total ethereum holdings had climbed to $56.9 million.
“Those vehicles are out there buying ethereum. And so that could also be additional buy-pressure that’s moving up the price,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro isn’t certain that the momentum will last for ethereum. He believes much of the hype for the coin in recent weeks has to do with excitement and uncertainty over ethereum’s potential catalysts.
The crypto’s rally could lose steam once more regulatory details are solidified, he said. He pointed in particular to the CLARITY Act, the crypto market structure bill that’s awaiting approval in Congress.
“Is the market structure bill going to pass? Are these sort of crypto primitives going to find product market fit in the market? And then is Ethereum, as opposed to other blockchain systems, going to be the winner from that?” Shapiro said. “I would personally probably sell the news.”