The proportion of extended ETH holders surged in 2023, surpassing Bitcoin for the second time in history. Based on insights via the on chain analytics platform IntoTheBlock, Ethereum has demonstrated notable progress in the percentage of investors maintaining their assets for over a year, marking a significant milestone for the blockchain, with the majority of current investors adopting a long term holding strategy.
ETH Long Term Holders Take Lead Over BTC
While the price performance of ETH lagged behind Bitcoin throughout 2023, this trend is expected, given the sheer dominance exhibited by BTC in bullish indicators and investor confidence. However, data indicates a growing number of Ethereum investors committing to holding ETH for an extended period, likely fueled by the anticipation of substantial future value appreciation.
Long term holders, characterized by their reluctance to sell during market volatility and price declines, play a crucial role in sustaining blockchain health, contributing to stability and mitigating price fluctuations.
History Repeats Itself
Ethereum has previously surpassed Bitcoin in this metric only once before, and it is noteworthy that during that instance, ETH went on to maintain leadership in this category over the subsequent months. Conversely, other metrics reveal that Bitcoin still maintains superiority over Ethereum in terms of profitability. Presently, nearly all BTC addresses show profitability at the current price, compared to ETH addresses which do show profitability albeit to a lesser extent.
In any case, the heightened profitability of Bitcoin is attributed to a significant number of early BTC assumed to be permanently lost. Consequently, the metric indicating holders who purchased at the current price places Ethereum ahead of Bitcoin.