Bitcoin VS Ethereum: When Narratives Collide

As the total market cap of crypto reaches a new paradigm, bitcoin and ethereum balances on exchanges continue to dwindle, but for different reasons.Let’s dig in.Crypto is booming, so much so that last weekend (6–7 Feb) saw the total market capitalisation of the industry surge to fresh all time highs as a swell of new investment tools became more widely known to bitcoin and ethereum investors.In just three days, markets added $500 million to their growing coffers, reaching a total market cap of $1.23 trillion, per data from CoinGecko.By and large, the majority of growth came through bitcoin, which tapped $41,000 before retreating to the $38,000 level. At the time of publishing, bitcoin was up 1.5% in 24 hours and is currently trading above $47,000.As it happens, both bitcoin and ethereum balances on centralised exchanges are still trending lower — i.e., investors are taking their crypto off exchanges and into private wallets.In the case of ethereum, holders can trade on DEXes such as Uniswap from their personal wallets. Technically proficient etherians are also locking-up funds in ETH 2.0 in order to earn staking rewards.On the other hand, the reasoning behind bitcoin’s continued exchange balance down-trend is due to its store of value properties against persistent inflationary pressures — which show no signs of abating.The bifurcation between the two assets could become clearer once the industry matures and investors begin to value digital assets differently.Presently, crypto is seen as one giant investment opportunity. However, now that bitcoin developers are dabbling in their own version of decentralised finance, there could be increased friction between crypto narratives.Such conversations are months, if not years, in advance of any kind of industry maturity.Ethereum February pump to go parabolic?Ethereum is in price discovery mode.Over the weekend (6–7 Feb), ETH dipped below $1,500 for a few brief…