- Bitcoin fund holdings rose 7.21% as institutions added 92,116 BTC between Feb. 7 and May 5.
- ETH/BTC fell below key moving averages, showing Ethereum’s weaker demand against Bitcoin.
- Bitcoin ETFs drew over $1.16B in early May inflows, far above Ethereum ETF totals.
Bitcoin is pulling further ahead in the institutional market as fund balances, ETF inflows, and corporate accumulation continue to favor BTC over Ethereum. CryptoQuant data shared on May 7 showed fund holdings rose from 1.278 million BTC on Feb. 7 to 1.370 million BTC on May 5. That added 92,116 BTC, a 7.21% increase, while the asset’s price climbed from $69,249 to $80,874.
Fund Holdings Show Stronger BTC Demand
CryptoQuant analyst MorenoDV said Bitcoin regained institutional confidence faster, while Ethereum still showed signs of hesitation. The data showed large investors added exposure after the early February decline.
Fund holdings dipped as prices weakened, but the recovery that followed was stronger and more consistent. By May, balances had reached new highs for the period. That trend showed institutions were not just holding positions.
Source: X
They were increasing exposure as BTC moved back above $80,000. The shift helped explain why Bitcoin remained the preferred institutional asset during the latest market recovery. The increase in fund holdings came alongside stronger regulated product demand.
ETH/BTC Weakness Signals Slower Conviction
Meanwhile, Ethereum did not match that momentum. A chart shared by trader Daan Crypto Trades showed ETH/BTC sliding after rejecting the daily 200-day exponential moving average.
The pair traded near 0.0287 BTC, below the 0.0300 level. It also stayed under the daily 200EMA near 0.03134 and 200MA near 0.0320. That move mattered as ETH/BTC tracks Ethereum’s strength against Bitcoin.
Source: X
When the pair declines, it means BTC is outperforming ETH in relative terms. Daan linked the weaker pair to stronger Bitcoin flows from Strategy’s STRC funding vehicle and spot ETF demand. Those channels gave BTC a clearer institutional bid.
Strategy said STRC demand helped drive a 9.4% BTC yield and about $5 billion in BTC dollar gains through April. At press time, the company held roughly 818,334 BTC, valued at nearly $65.2 billion. That position represented about 3.90% of the total BTC supply, keeping Strategy as the largest corporate holder.
ETF Flows Confirm the Gap
ETF data also supported the same trend. Farside Investors showed U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded $629.8 million in net inflows on May 1. They added another $532.3 million on May 4, with BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC leading demand.
Ethereum ETFs also recorded inflows, but the totals were smaller. They drew $61.3 million on May 4, $97.5 million on May 5, and $11.5 million on May 6. The difference showed that regulated fund flows still favored Bitcoin. Overall, Ethereum attracted fresh capital, but not enough to close the institutional demand gap.
Related: Zcash Surges 75% as Crypto Analysts Say It May Outperform Bitcoin
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