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Whether it is called “subversion” or “reversal”, most people call the concept that Ethereum market value exceeds Bitcoin “flip”.
The question is, as ETH price soars above $4300, approaching an all-time high of $4878, is it possible that a “flip” really happening?
Will Ethereum eventually replace Bitcoin’s “crown”??
Ethereum’s current market value is about $500 billion, while Bitcoin’s market value is close to five times, reaching $2.3 trillion.Despite this, people like Ethereum co-founder Joe Lubin have been optimistic about this recently.
“I think something amazing will happen in the next year or so,” Lubin said when CNBC said ETH could surpass BTC’s market cap.
In a July 30 interview with CNBC, Lubin mentioned that the growth of publicly traded cryptocurrency reserve companies is one of the catalysts for this potential trend.Lubin’s SharpLink Gaming (NASDAQ: SBET) reserves currently hold 521,939 ETH.
However,Many fund managers and investment professionals don’t think so.
“As for ‘flip’, we don’t think it will happen,” said Jeff Embry, managing partner at crypto fund Globe 3 Capital. “ETH faces huge obstacles to surpassing BTC, and the value drivers of both will keep BTC ahead of the curve.”
Many people look for historical references through ETH/BTC trading pairs.
During the 2017 bull market, the ETH/BTC ratio was about 0.1475 BTC/ETH, which means that at the peak of the ratio, the ETH price was about 14.75% of BTC.
The current ETH/BTC ratio is 0.03532 BTC/ETH, which is only 3.6% of the BTC price.However, this ratio may still have room for upward, which may amplify the heat of discussion on any potential “flip” in the future.
“Since hitting a low in April 2025, the ETH-BTC spread has been bought in large quantities, and I think there is still room for further upside,” said Jean-Marc Bonnefous, managing partner of crypto-focused fund Tellurian Capital. “Some hedge funds have previously shorted the ETH-BTC spread, and with the new ETH treasury companies buying in large quantities, these funds were forced to close their positions and leave the market, further amplifying the rebound.”
Ethereum reserve companies (such as Tom Lee’s Bitmine Immersion Technologies, NASDAQ: BMNR) are driving ETH appreciation.The company is the listed company with the largest number of ETH and currently holds 833,133 ETH.
Lee predicts ETH price will reach $16,000 in the near future, which could bring the asset close to the 2017 record price ratio to Bitcoin.
However, the fundamentals of ETH technology that attract Wall Street’s attention may not be enough to make its price surpass BTC.
“In the next five years, we need to see extremely strong positive effects on RWA and tokenized Treasury bonds, and AI, games, sovereign infrastructure, etc. are all running on Ethereum,” said Chris Thomas of Lake Capital, a multi-partner crypto consulting firm. “But even based on these data, the ETH price may only reach $30,000 to $50,000… By then, Bitcoin is likely to rise 7 to 10 times.”
It should be noted thatBitcoin may also continue to rise as ETH prices rise.The supply dynamics of ETH are different from Bitcoin’s famous fixed supply.
“In terms of the price of a single ETH, it is unlikely to exceed the price of a single Bitcoin,” said Steve Chen, founder of BAIK Ventures, blockchain startup accelerator. “The total supply of Bitcoin is 21 million. ETH has no hard cap on total supply. Although there is a destruction mechanism, the amount of ETH in circulation is still huge.”
According to CoinGecko data, the current ETH circulation is 120 million.Unlike the fixed circulation of 21 million Bitcoins, Ethereum has no hard cap on supply.
Instead, the Ethereum network destroys transaction fees called gas in its proof-of-stake consensus mechanism.Bitcoin handling fees are allocated as rewards to proof-of-work miners.
also,There are significant differences in roles and uses between BTC and ETH, so it is difficult to compare these two distinct networks with a “point-to-point” basis..
Nevertheless, the narrative battle between BTC and ETH and price competition will continue to heat up.As the crypto-regulatory environment turns positive in 2025, demand for both will remain high.
“BTC has a first-mover advantage and remains the core digital gold asset,” added Tellurian Capital’s Bonnefous. “However, I expect ETH to see a significant rebound, which has been overselled over the past few months.”
