Ether (ETH) is moving ahead of bitcoin in a clear rotation, with capital shifting as bitcoin ETFs experience outflows and ether funds and prices rise.
ETH is up about 8% in the past 24 hours versus bitcoin’s roughly 5% gain, according to market data from CoinDesk, extending its outperformance to about 4 percentage points over the past week and nearly 9 points over the past month.
U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $325.8 million in net outflows on April 13, led by $229 million from Fidelity’s FBTC and $63 million from ARK’s ARKB, according to data from SoSoValue. The pullback marks a clear cooling in what has been the main source of marginal demand for bitcoin.
Ether ETFs recorded modest daily inflows of $7.7 million, while weekly inflows rose to $187 million during the period ending April 10, the strongest showing of 2026 and a sharp reversal of three consecutive weeks of outflows totaling about $308 million. Cumulative admissions have now reached a record $11.68 billion.
At the same time, activity on the Ethereum network is accelerating considerably. Daily transactions are up 41% week over week to about 3.6 million, with Artemis data showing a nearly vertical increase from about 2.5 million on April 10. Among the major chains, only Sonic and TON posted larger percentage gains, both from much smaller bases.
The quality of that activity, however, is less clear. Stablecoin transfer volume on Ethereum is down 42.6% over the same period and fees have fallen nearly 50%, pointing to smaller transaction sizes and lighter economic performance.
Bitcoin, for its part, is holding firm despite the outflows, a sign of underlying spot support even as its dominant ETF offering weakens, according to Glassnode’s latest weekly report.
For now, bitcoin is absorbing ETF outflows without breaking out, a sign of underlying spot strength even as momentum indicators flash overbought. Whether ether’s setup ushers in a long-lasting rotation or a short-lived burst will depend on ETH funds sustaining inflows and bitcoin’s positioning relaxing without a sharp correction.
It also depends on the quality of the chain activity. The stablecoin summer of 2025, when USDC and USDT transfer volumes surged and led Ethereum to record economic performance, set the benchmark for a fundamentally driven rally that helped propel ether towards $4,000.
This week’s data points in the opposite direction. Transactions increased by 41%, but stablecoin volume decreased by 42.6%, indicating more activity with less value behind it. Closing that gap is what would make a rotation more lasting.
