Analysts and industry experts remain divided on which global ETF – bitcoin or ether – will come out on top in 2024 after a year of underperformance. Ether (ETH) underperformed when compared to Solana on Wednesday, 27 December; however, the ETF bounced back in the early hours of the morning with an impressive 8.9% spike.
Analysts divided over ether and bitcoin performance race
André Dragosch, head of research at ETC Group, predicted that ether will outperform all other ETFs during 2024, specifically overtaking its ultimate rival, Bitcoin (BTC). Dragosch also noted that ether will able to reserve the underperformance it has seen this year with a new deflationary burn mechanism launched in August 2021, Improvement Proposal EIP-1559. The mechanism aims to reduce the global supply of ether and push the price skywards. The coin is currently the second-largest cryptocurrency worldwide.
Don’t miss out the latest news, subscribe to LeapRate’s newsletter
On the other hand, Cathie Wood, chief executive at ARK Invest, vouched for Bitcoin to maintain its first-place title, predicting an uptick on TradFi (traditional finance) following the approval of the spot Bitcoin ETF – the price will accelerate if TradFi allocates a minimum of 0.1% capital to Bitcoin.
However, this acceleration will only remain stable if the global Bitcoin supply is capped at 21 million tokens. As with all currencies – cryptocurrency included – a reduction in supply causes the price to rise.
David Schwed, a blockchain security specialist and Holborn chief operation executive, sided with Wood, estimating that ether is no match for Bitcoin’s longevity in the crypto world. It seems many market analysts outside of the ETC Group content Dragosch’s view that ether will, inevitably, win the crypto race. Halving the Bitcoin rewards miners earn for every completed block will, according to Wood, reduce from 6.5 BTC to 3.125 per block, thus reducing increased demand and inflationary risks.
