ETH and BTC Are Rallying Together — But On-Chain Data Shows a Quiet Split

Ethereum (ETH) holders pulled 1.4 million coins off exchanges since June 3. The drain has accelerated since the rally began, according to Santiment.

Bitcoin (BTC) holders left their coins on exchanges during the same run. The two largest assets rallied together, and their owners responded in opposite ways.

Ethereum and Bitcoin Exchange Balances Split as Prices Climbed

Santiment noted that ETH held on exchanges fell from about 7.69 million coins on June 3 to 6.28 million on August 27. This marks an 18% drop in tradable supply.

Bitcoin balances rose 0.25% over the same stretch. Santiment places current BTC holdings on exchanges near the upper end of their recent range.

Notably, withdrawals did not pause once the advance started. A further 275,000 coins moved off exchanges after August 19, pushing holdings to the lowest of the period.

The firm added that Ethereum rose roughly 27% between August 16 and August 27. The coins therefore left while the price climbed, not while it fell.

Across August so far, Bitcoin gained 26.5%, and Ethereum gained 34.5%. Neither asset was falling when their holders chose opposite directions.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s exchange share dropped to 6.50% of total supply on July 28. It has climbed to roughly 6.65% since. Ethereum’s share sits at 3.717%. Santiment framed the split plainly.

“Two majors, one market, opposite inventory. ETH holders took their coins home. BTC holders left them on the desk,” the firm said.

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ETF Flows Show the Same Divide

The same divide shows up in fund flows. Institutional money did not treat the two assets alike over the past 12 weeks.

US spot Ethereum ETFs netted $1.633 billion across 60 trading sessions. Bitcoin funds managed $173 million.

That gap is wider than the raw figures suggest. Bitcoin’s fund complex was eight times larger when the window opened, so the two totals sit on very different bases.

The Bitcoin number also masks heavy two-way traffic. Those funds took in $5.87 billion and gave back $5.69 billion, ending close to where they started.

Ethereum’s flows ran in one direction instead. Its intake equals 15.51% of the assets its funds held before the window opened, against 0.2% for Bitcoin.

Ethereum has gained 34.74% since June 3, against 11.91% for Bitcoin. September flow data will show whether the inventory gap holds.

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