Ethereum recently passed a major milestone that has changed the way many people look at the cryptocurrency market. For the first time in more than seven years, Ethereum surpassed Bitcoin in weekly centralized exchange spot trading volume. In August 2025, Ethereum reached almost $480 billion in trading compared to Bitcoin’s $401 billion. This shift is important because Bitcoin has long been the leader in trading activity. The fact that Ethereum overtook it shows how investor preferences are changing as the market develops.
Ethereum’s growth is closely tied to how people are using it. Unlike Bitcoin, which is often viewed as digital gold and a store of value, Ethereum is seen as a network with practical applications. Developers build smart contracts, decentralized finance projects, and NFTs on Ethereum. These applications help explain why Ethereum’s utility-driven ecosystem is attracting more attention from both retail traders and institutional investors. This difference between utility and store-of-value has shaped how the two assets are used and traded.
Institutional demand is one of the strongest forces driving Ethereum’s rise. In 2025, corporate treasury accumulation and exchange-traded funds became major factors. BitMine Immersion Technologies, led by Tom Lee of Fundstrat, has become the largest corporate Ethereum holder in the world. It has accumulated 1.87 million ETH worth about $8.1 billion. BitMine wants to control 5% of Ethereum’s circulating supply, which shows strong corporate confidence in Ethereum’s future role in the financial system. SharpLink Gaming has also played a role by buying 837,230 ETH, creating a treasury valued at $3.6 billion by late August 2025.
These actions by corporations have gone hand in hand with the growth of Ethereum exchange-traded funds. According to data from CoinShares, holdings of Ethereum ETFs increased by 63% in the second quarter of 2025, reaching 1 million ETH. These regulated investment products allow institutions to gain exposure to Ethereum without directly holding the tokens. The growth of ETFs has provided more liquidity, more legitimacy, and more interest in Ethereum’s ecosystem. The rise in ETF demand also shows how financial institutions are diversifying beyond Bitcoin into assets that offer broader utility.
At the same time, the ETF flows highlight how volatile the market can be. In August 2025, Ethereum ETFs saw $3.95 billion in net inflows, while Bitcoin ETFs faced outflows of $301 million. Investors clearly favored Ethereum during that month. But in early September, the trend reversed. Ethereum ETFs recorded $952 million in outflows over just five trading days. The largest single-day withdrawal was $447 million on September 5. During that same period, Bitcoin ETFs attracted $246 million in steady inflows. This reversal reflects a long-standing pattern. Data from BeInCrypto shows that Bitcoin has historically performed better in September compared to Ethereum. In early September 2025, Bitcoin ETFs saw $332 million in net inflows while Ethereum ETFs faced $135 million in outflows. These seasonal differences continue to shape how investors move capital between the two assets.
Even though short-term patterns show Bitcoin gaining ground, Ethereum’s long-term strength lies in its expanding role in decentralized finance. The network hosts $172.2 billion in stablecoins, which makes up more than 50% of global circulation. Stablecoins are important because they provide liquidity and a reliable medium for trading in DeFi. This large base of stablecoins creates a foundation for lending, borrowing, and other financial activities. The presence of stablecoins on Ethereum reinforces its utility and makes it a key hub for decentralized markets.
Ethereum has also seen rising activity on decentralized exchanges. In July 2025, Ethereum’s share of decentralized exchange trading volume was 31%. By August it had surged to nearly 50%. This shows that traders are increasingly using Ethereum-based exchanges to carry out transactions without relying on centralized platforms. The move toward decentralized trading reflects a broader trend in the market where transparency and control matter to investors.
The ETH/BTC ratio is another measure that signals market confidence. In August 2025, the ratio reached 0.039 before falling slightly to 0.038 in September. While this looks like a small decline, it still represents an improvement compared to earlier lows. A higher ratio suggests that investors value Ethereum more compared to Bitcoin. This metric often reflects whether traders see more potential in Ethereum’s utility-driven model than in Bitcoin’s digital gold narrative.
The broader meaning of these shifts is that the cryptocurrency market is maturing. Ethereum’s surpassing of Bitcoin in exchange trading volume highlights how investors now weigh practical applications and network effects more heavily than simple scarcity. Utility over store-of-value has become an important theme. Corporate treasuries and institutional investors are diversifying their strategies, looking beyond Bitcoin toward assets that provide broader use cases. Ethereum’s dominance in stablecoins and DeFi is creating network effects that feed back into higher liquidity and more trading volume.
This change also shows that the market is moving away from pure speculation. Earlier cycles were often driven by hype and sudden price swings. Now, more investors are paying attention to fundamentals like how many stablecoins are circulating, how much DeFi activity is growing, and how institutions are allocating capital. Ethereum’s ecosystem is complex, but it is also becoming more integrated into the financial world.
Bitcoin is not disappearing. It remains the oldest and most recognized cryptocurrency. Its role as a store of value is still strong, especially for those who want a hedge against inflation or government debt. But the competition between Bitcoin and Ethereum shows how the digital asset market is evolving. Both assets have different strengths, and both attract different kinds of investors. In some months Bitcoin performs better, and in others Ethereum leads. What has changed is that Ethereum now has the liquidity, the corporate backing, and the institutional adoption to challenge Bitcoin’s long-standing dominance.
As September trading moves forward, investors will keep watching to see whether Ethereum can hold its lead in exchange trading or if Bitcoin will once again regain ground. No matter the outcome, the story is bigger than a single month’s performance. Ethereum’s growing use in decentralized finance, its dominance in stablecoins, and its rising presence in institutional portfolios suggest that utility-driven cryptocurrencies may shape the next stage of market growth. Bitcoin will likely continue to be important, but Ethereum’s role as a platform for innovation means the balance of power in crypto is no longer one-sided.
