Bitcoin’s Early Rally Fizzles Out
In the early hours from Sunday to Monday, Bitcoin staged a spectacular rally against Ethereum, briefly climbing above $122,000. However, the move didn’t hold — BTC has since slipped back below $119,000.
Ethereum, on the other hand, pushed past $4,300 yesterday and has managed to hold that level even after Bitcoin’s pullback.
Record-Breaking Spot ETH ETF Inflows
The main driver behind ETH’s resilience is a new record for spot Ethereum ETF inflows. Over $1 billion flowed into ETH funds in a single day — shattering the previous daily record of $727 million. For comparison, Bitcoin’s all-time daily ETF inflow high is only slightly larger at $1.2 billion.
Yesterday, Bitcoin saw just $179 million in inflows — underscoring the current sentiment gap between the two assets. Ethereum influencer Anthony Sassano summed it up on X:
“ETH ETFs had 5.5 times the net inflows of BTC ETFs today. There’s a new sheriff in town.”
Net inflow into the ETH ETFs today: $1 billion
— sassal.eth/acc 🦇🔊 (@sassal0x) August 12, 2025
Net inflow into the BTC ETFs today: $179 million
The ETH ETFs had 5.5x the amount of net inflows as the BTC ETFs did today.
There's a new sheriff in town - accelerate!
Market Cap Dynamics in Ethereum’s Favor
Ethereum’s significantly smaller market cap — $516 billion versus Bitcoin’s $2.36 trillion — is amplifying its price reaction to these institutional inflows.
While large players continue to accumulate ETH, CryptoQuant data shows retail traders are still selling. Leon Waidmann, Head of Research at OnchainHQ, notes:
“After years of being underwater, many retail holders are finally breaking even and are hitting the sell button.”
Still, he expects ETH to keep climbing, forcing retail back in at new all-time highs.
Retail ETH holders are selling !📉
— Leon Waidmann 🔥 (@LeonWaidmann) August 12, 2025
After years underwater, many are finally break-even… and hitting the sell button.
I’ve seen this before.
They’re handing their ETH to large investors and institutions — and most will only realize later it was a massive mistake.
I believe… pic.twitter.com/52C0gYd5Bx
Altcoin Market Hit Hard
Outside of ETH, much of the altcoin market is deep in the red. Fartcoin has plunged over 20% in the last 24 hours, Story Protocol’s IP token is down 14%, while PENGU and BONK have both fallen around 12%.
Macro Context: Trade Tariffs and U.S. Data Ahead
Traditional markets gained a measure of clarity after U.S. President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order on Monday granting an additional 90-day pause on new tariffs against China. These tariffs had been set to take effect today.
Investors now turn their attention to the latest U.S. consumer price data, with several other key economic releases due later this week.