Ethereum overtakes Bitcoin in year-to-date price gains amid institutional demand surge

Ethereum's year-to-date gains have just nudged past the world's largest cryptocurrency as increased institutional demand has resulted in billions of dollars of ETH being purchased in recent weeks.

Thanks to added demand from digital asset treasury companies (DATs) stockpiling ETH and rising inflows for exchange-traded funds like BlackRock’s ETHA fund, the cryptocurrency's price has been on the upswing.

Changing hands at $4,311.58 as of 1:16 p.m. ET, the price of Ethereum's native asset, ether, was up about 29% in the year-to-date period, according to The Block's price data. Bitcoin at $120,020.83 was up roughly 28% over the same time.

ETH recently eclipsed $4,000 level for the first time in eight months. The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap had last traded above $4,000 on Dec. 16, 2024, reaching a peak of $4,107.

Ethereum DATs and rising ETF inflows

With the buying spree for ETH treasuries, the newly-formed DATs are hoping to replicate the playbook created by bitcoin treasury company pioneer, Michael Saylor's Strategy.

Net inflows into U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs have also increased in recent weeks, outperforming their Bitcoin ETF counterparts. The ETH-based funds have added about $5 billion in the last month. The total net inflow for the products registers over $9 billion since they began trading in July 2024. The total assets under management for publicly-traded spot Ethereum ETFs are about $20 billion.