In 2024, Ethereum may surpass Bitcoin in terms of price growth pace, according to Andre Dragos, the head of research at ETC Group. The fundamental basis for this prediction lies in technological advancements and Ethereum’s steadfast position as the leading smart contract platform. The expert also noted that throughout 2023, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization lagged behind digital gold in terms of price growth.
“ETH has been trailing BTC for the past 12 months. However, Ether may outpace Bitcoin in the next 12 months,” emphasized Dragos.
The report also states that the price growth of Ethereum will be influenced by the “deflationary burning mechanism” implemented in August 2021 through the implementation of EIP-1559 as part of the London hard fork.
The reduction in coin supply, combined with the attractive staking yields, may lead to the so-called “flippening” – Ether’s dominance over Bitcoin in terms of market capitalization.
“Traditional investors may view staking rewards as an equivalent to stock dividends,” noted the expert.
Dragos added that since its inception in 2015, Ethereum has consistently outpaced Bitcoin in terms of growth rates, with the exception of 2023.
Researchers at Coinbase also acknowledge the potential for Ether to return to average performance levels in the coming year, considering the “relative discount” to the price of digital gold.
As a hurdle to recovery, experts point to the comparatively weak fundamentals of the second-largest cryptocurrency, including a decrease in transactional activity in 2023. According to Coinbase, unconvincing on-chain metrics make Ethereum’s monthly supply deflation inconsistent.
In the last 24 hours, Ethereum has grown by 6.6% ($2374), while Bitcoin has increased by 1.4% ($43,062). Over the past seven days, the respective figures are 8.4% and -1%, according to CoinGecko.
