Ethereum hits 8-month highs in BTC as money heads for ‘riskier’ altcoins

Ether (ETH) is worth more in Bitcoin (BTC) than at any time since the start of the year amid a renewed appetite for altcoins.

Altcoin Market Cap Returns to $700 Billion

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView confirms that ETH/BTC has eliminated key resistance to cross 0.08 BTC on August 13th.

The move is impressive for the largest altcoin Ethereum, as the area around 0.075 represented a annoying sell zone that had previously controlled the bulls since January.

At the time of writing, ETH/BTC is struggling to hold the newly gained level as traders wonder how long its strength might last.

Like Cointelegraph reported earlier, ETH/USD surged above $2,000 overnight, an important psychological boundary in itself unseen since May.

Not for long then

— CryptoTony (@CryptoTony__) August 13, 2022

Noting a trend of accumulation in developing altcoins, on-chain analytics firm Glassnode observed investors’ desire to increase risk exposure in the current atmosphere.

“According to Swissblock’s Altcoin Cycle Signal, some of bitcoin’s strength has tempered as investors invested in altcoins in a lower-risk environment,” co-founders Yann Allemann and Jan Happel wrote. in the latest edition of their “Unexplored“newsletter.

“Since the Ethereum merger became clearer, Ethereum has outperformed bitcoin, pushing altcoins higher.”

The overall market capitalization of altcoins also hit its highest level since the end of May this week, surpassing $700 billion, according to figures from TradingView and CoinMarketCap.

ETH Price Analysis Still Favors Bear Market

When it comes to potential price targets for Ethereum, traders nonetheless remained conservative after months of bullishness.

Related: Price Analysis 8/12: BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, ADA, SOL, DOGE, DOT, MATIC, AVAX

“$ETH at $2200 as long as we stay above $1737”, popular account Crypto Chase abstract.

“Once the untapped highs start to be exploited (and no reversal is given), the rest of the highs usually meet the same fate. I don’t have my eyes on an exact level or setup for a long opportunity, but I’ll update if I see one.”

“LTF trend v bullish: I’m looking at a breakout if $2,000 is claimed –> $2.4,000”, Karoush AK account continued.

“Bearish Neutral HTF Trend: This is not a bull market, let alone a bear market. Underwater bag holders have a chance to de-risk at $2,000 resistance.”

In its latest market update to Telegram channel subscribers, trading firm QCP Capital echoed the need for a cautious approach to further gains in a booming altcoin market.

According to the staff, open interest (OI) in the derivatives markets is of particular interest, with ETH eclipsing BTC activity by almost double.

“ETHBTC broke above the 0.08 level and the ETH Open Interest (OI) option is at an all-time high of $8 billion, eclipsing the BTC OI option by $5 billion. This is unprecedented,” he writes.

“Concerns around a hard fork remain, with September ETH futures trading below -8% (annualized) versus spot. We took profits on our long spot versus spot. short on futures.”

Ethereum’s September merger event, he added, could prove to be an inflection point for the markets.

The views and opinions expressed herein are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.