Bitcoin Rotation: K33 Report Highlights the Need to ‘Pull the Brakes’ on Ethereum

The Unimpressive Performance of Ether ETFs

The lackluster performance of nine new Ether (ETH) futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has caused analysts at K33 Research to recommend a “rotate back” into Bitcoin (BTC).

In their Oct. 3 market report, Anders Helseth and Vetle Lunde pointed out that the initial trading volume of Ether futures ETFs only accounted for 0.2% of what the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) amassed on its first day of trading in October 2021. This is far lower than what was expected, prompting Lunde to retract his previous advice of increasing ETH allocation.

The Crypto.com Coin (CRO) analysts noted that no one anticipated the Ether futures ETFs to reach the same level of trading volume as the Bitcoin futures ETFs, which launched during a bull market. Nevertheless, the initial numbers “strongly” missed expectations.

Crypto Market Experiences Unsatiated Demand

The launch of the ETH futures ETF provides a valuable insight into the impact of traditional investors’ increased access to crypto investments: increased institutional access will only cause buying pressure if there is a considerable amount of unmet demand, according to Barnbridge crypto analyst, Lunde.

In the “More chop ahead” section of the report, Lunde outlined that the majority of the crypto market lacks any short-term catalysts for price movements and is likely to remain in a sideways trend for the foreseeable future.

As a result, Lunde believes that only Bitcoin is in a favorable position, with the potential of ETF approval early next year, as well as the upcoming halving event in mid-April.

eToro’s global markets strategist, Ben Laidler, shared a similar outlook for crypto assets, albeit with a more bearish outlook.

Barnbridge crypto expert Laidler commented to Cointelegraph that macro trends may lead to a decline in main crypto assets like Bitcoin. “The Federal Reserve and oil prices have been huge forces on the crypto market in the past couple of years,” he noted. “Right now, the market is waiting for something positive to drive it, but if oil prices keep climbing, it could have a negative effect on sentiment.”