Ethereum’s ETH/BTC ratio shift and institutional momentum

ETF Flows and the ETH/BTC Ratio

The ETH/BTC ratio hit 0.042, which is a change from the 0.027 low in May 2026. US spot Ethereum ETFs captured $324 million in net inflows through mid-September, exceeding the $307 million Bitcoin ETFs attracted during that timeframe. I see this as a divergence in institutional preference. Although Bitcoin ETFs attracted $467 million for the full month, Ethereum ETFs pulled in $445 million. This strength follows an August where Ethereum ETFs saw $1.75 billion in net inflows. Since June 29, Ethereum rose 24% while Bitcoin rose 10%. In the week of July 20 to 24, 2026, Ethereum funds outpaced Bitcoin funds by nearly three times, with $103.9 million versus $33.79 million. BlackRock’s ETHA product logged $148.8 million in inflows on September 11, the same day Bitcoin products lost capital. This momentum follows a period where the ETH/BTC ratio hit 0.03, which was the highest since April.

Institutional Accumulation

Institutional accumulation remains aggressive. A single whale at address 0x81D bought 50,537 ETH, valued at $162 million, in one 24-hour window. The massive purchase by address 0x81D equals 0.042% of the total Ethereum supply, a move that follows a period of relative price consolidation and signals a strategic positioning ahead of anticipated network upgrades or macroeconomic shifts. Bitmine Immersion Technologies holds 5.93 million ETH, which is 4.9% of the 122 million ETH supply. The company also holds 211 Bitcoin, $180 million in Beast Industries, and $91 million in Eightco Holdings. Bitmine has 5.067 million ETH staked, earning a 2.61% 7-day yield. Bitmine bought ETH every week since the strategy began on June 30, 2025. You already know that large staking amounts reduce liquid supply. Bitmine’s common stock gain of 99% this quarter makes it the 4th best performing in the Russell 1000. Bitmine currently holds the largest Ethereum treasury in the world using its MAVAN platform.

Staking, Macro, and Regulatory Drivers

The CLARITY Act vote in mid-September is a primary catalyst. Ethereum displays a 0.78 correlation to the Nasdaq 100, while Bitcoin has a 0.55 correlation. This higher beta profile causes Ethereum to drop faster during macro shocks like the US-Iran conflict in May. However, Ethereum’s Glamsterdam upgrade faced a delay from Q2 to the end of August 2026, which weighed on the ETH/BTC ratio. In Q3 2025, withdrawal wait times reached 45 days for 2.6 million ETH, but now more than 2.5 million ETH wait to enter staking with 44 day delays. One in three ETH is now staked, which is 33.6% of the total supply. Ethereum’s Layer-2 networks like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base process transactions cheaply, but the fees accrue to the L2 instead of the Ethereum base layer, which reduces the fee burn rate. Will the upcoming regulatory decisions sustain this momentum? Bitmine management believes the GENIUS Act and SEC Project Crypto are as transformative as the 1971 decision to end the Bretton Woods system.