Ethereum Rises Amid Market Divergence: Futures Volume Surpasses Bitcoin, Bitmine Invests an Additional $200 Million to Increase ETH Holdings

Amid strong expectations for key macroeconomic events this week, particularly the Fed's interest rate decision, the market has shown significant divergence: on one hand, Ethereum (ETH) futures trading volume soared and surpassed Bitcoin (BTC); on the other hand, institutional investors are shifting funds from Ethereum to Bitcoin through ETF channels. Nevertheless, the Ethereum enterprise treasury Bitmine Immersion continues to aggressively increase its holdings of ETH, with its latest open interest surpassing 2.1 million coins, aiming to achieve its grand goal of holding 5% of the total supply of ETH, which provides solid institutional backing for the market's bullish sentiment.

Market Dynamics: ETH futures volume surpasses BTC, institutional funds rotation

According to data from the analysis company Coinanalyze, in the past 24 hours, the total trading volume of Ethereum futures reached 49.4 billion USD, surpassing Bitcoin's 42.9 billion USD. This surge in speculative interest sharply contrasts with the capital flows in the ETF market:

ETF Capital Flows: In the past 10 days, the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF has seen a cumulative net inflow of $1.39 billion, while the spot Ethereum ETF experienced a net outflow of $668 million. This highlights that institutional investors are engaging in a kind of capital rotation.

Expert Interpretation: Stephen Gregory, the founder of the crypto trading platform Vtrader, stated that this divergence is a typical market phenomenon, especially considering that the expectations of the Fed potentially lowering interest rates are driving funds towards Ethereum and other altcoins. He predicts that the third quarter will end with a rise led by altcoins.

Outstanding performance: According to CMC data, Ethereum has risen 31% year-to-date, outperforming Bitcoin's 19%, further proving that capital rotation is creating a significant performance gap.

Institutional Action: Bitmine Makes Huge Accumulation, Aiming for 5% of ETH Total Supply

As retail and institutional investor sentiment diverges, Bitmine Immersion, as part of the Ethereum "Strategy", is firmly executing its long-term accumulation strategy.

Latest purchase: According to a report from the on-chain data platform Onchain Lens, Bitmine recently received 46,255 ETH from three wallet addresses of BitGo, worth approximately 201 million USD.

Total Holdings: After this purchase, the company, which was primarily engaged in Bitcoin mining, has reached a total holdings of 2,126,018 Ether, with a total value exceeding 9.24 billion USD.

Grand Goal: Bitmine Chairman Thomas Lee stated in a statement that the company aims to hold 5% of the total supply of Ethereum. He firmly believes that ETH will be "one of the biggest macro trades" in the next 10 to 15 years and thinks that Wall Street's transition to blockchain mainly occurs on the Ethereum network.

Signal Analysis: Futures Enthusiasm and Options Caution

Although futures traders are enthusiastic about Ethereum, the data from the options market shows a more cautious attitude.

Volatility Expectations: Adam Chu, the chief researcher at the options trading platform GreeksLive, pointed out that implied volatility (which measures the market's expectations for future volatility) remains low. This indicates that despite the Fed's interest rate decision next week, the market generally believes that a 25 basis point rate cut has already been priced in.

Sentiment Outlook: However, Chu added, "The overall sentiment in the market for the fourth quarter remains more optimistic."

Conclusion

The current market presents a captivating dual narrative: on one hand, macroeconomic data and interest rate cut expectations are prompting speculative funds to rotate into Ethereum and altcoins; on the other hand, leading companies like Bitmine Immersion are validating Ethereum's long-term value through concrete actions, with their massive and planned accumulation providing strong fundamental support for this trend. Despite the continued market volatility and emotional divergence in the short term, the active futures market and the firm bullish stance of large institutions together construct a bullish narrative. Whether Ethereum can further consolidate its leading position in the future will depend on whether this wave driven by macro expectations and institutional trust can be sustained and ultimately break through short-term resistance.