According to data from crypto research firm K33 Research, Ether is trading at yearly lows against Bitcoin.
The downtrend first started in September 2022, when The Merge occurred. Ether is currently trading around 0.06 BTC.
K33 Senior Analyst Vetle Lunde and Vice President Anders Helseth made the following statements in the report they prepared:
“Ether has experienced a steady downward trend throughout the year due to decreased DeFi and NFT activity”
The analyst stated that CME derivatives traders also took a bearish view on Ether, and although there has been a 60% increase in open positions since August compared to the spot price, it remains at a significantly lower level compared to Bitcoin.
Lunde and Helseth cited the low expectation of Ether investors in CME for approval of Ether futures ETFs in the coming weeks as the reason for this.
October may be important
Despite the downward trend, analysts think that this trend may reverse if Ether ETFs are approved in the coming weeks. For this reason, they repeated that turning to Ether towards the end of the year could be a logical move.
Companies such as Grayscale, Ark Invest, Valkyrie and ProShares have recently applied for Ethereum futures ETFs. It is thought that the SEC may approve these ETF proposals.
Search for catalyst
The fact that the Fed kept interest rates constant was not enough to mobilize the cryptocurrency markets. Prices continue to trade in a narrow range amid low volume and volatility.
Lunde and Helseth noted that the derivatives markets have a mixed and bearish outlook, and that there has been a long-standing discrepancy between the CME and offshore derivatives traders.
Analysts noted that short-term investors should watch for signs of aggression from CME traders as an indicator of potential upcoming price movement.
Analysts stated last week that Binance prioritized the decline in Bitcoin spot volume in the markets in September.
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