Long-term holding trends in the crypto market have taken an intriguing turn this year as Ethereum surpassed Bitcoin in retaining such investors.

Despite Bitcoin’s 122% surge compared to Ethereum’s 48% growth in the past year, the increase in the long-term holders of the latter highlighted rising market confidence as 2025 approaches.

Ethereum Shows Stronger Long-Term Holder Retention

According to IntoTheBlock data, the percentage of long-term Ether (ETH) holders has steadily surpassed that of Bitcoin (BTC) investors throughout 2024. The year-to-date trend indicates a declining share of long-term Bitcoin holders, which currently stands at a little over 62%.

On the other hand, long-term ETH holders began the year with a notable rise, thereby outpacing their BTC counterparties early on and stabilizing at 75.06%. This divergence in investor behavior, with Ethereum seeing stronger retention among long-term participants compared to Bitcoin over the past year.

This shift comes even as Ethereum didn’t hit its all-time high price like Bitcoin. However, it is important to note that the world’s largest altcoin saw plenty of other developments. For instance, spot Ether ETFs received approval, which sparked interest without driving a major price rally. Anthony Sassano, a leading Ethereum advocate and educator, projected that Ether ETFs could see net inflows exceeding $50 billion in 2025.

In addition to making crypto a key part of his campaign, President-elect Donald Trump also supported the DeFi platform “World Liberty Financial,” which has been built on Ethereum. This reflects Ethereum being a strong contender in the DeFi space despite a flurry of alternatives.

On the technology side of things, Ethereum became more affordable after the Dencu