Data from SoSoValue shows Bitcoin ETFs have taken the lead in April, pulling in $2.44 billion in net inflows, on top of $1.32 billion in March. In comparison, Ethereum ETFs have brought in about $540 million, meaning Bitcoin has nearly five times more capital.
The gap is also visible in price performance. Bitcoin has risen about 13.5% this month, outperforming Ethereum by a wide margin. As a result, the ETH/BTC ratio has fallen around 3.1% so far in Q2, extending a downtrend from previous quarters.
Given this backdrop, some analysts say it may be too early to call Ethereum’s current cycle fully driven by institutional demand.
Still, not everyone agrees.
Supporters of Ethereum point to strategies like those from Tom Lee’s BitMine, which focus on accumulating ETH and generating yield through staking. With a large portion of holdings already staked, this approach aims to steadily grow exposure over time.
The bigger question is whether this strategy can compete with the strong and growing inflows into Bitcoin ETFs.
Lee’s broader argument is that institutional investors tend to think long term—and by that measure, Ethereum still holds a strong position. It dominates key areas such as real-world assets (RWAs), with about 65% market share, and stablecoins, where it accounts for over half of the market, representing roughly $167 billion in on-chain liquidity.
Both sectors are expanding quickly. The RWA market alone has grown sharply over the past year, while stablecoins are increasingly used as the main settlement layer in crypto, rather than just a defensive tool.
With this growth, Ethereum is seen by some as a core infrastructure layer for future financial systems, including blockchain-based payments and emerging technologies.
In summary, Bitcoin is clearly leading in ETF inflows and short-term performance. However, Ethereum’s strength in key sectors like RWAs and stablecoins suggests its institutional story may still be developing, setting up a potential competition between the two as the quarter progresses.
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