Crypto Traders Are Longing ETH (And Not Much Else)

The number of Ethereum (ETH) longs has continued to surge after breaking into all-time highs at the end of March.

Despite the broader crypto markets posting price gains alongside Bitcoin (BTC) in recent weeks, the number of open longs remains low for most crypto assets after plummeting during the mid-March crypto market crash.

Ether longs dominate crypto markets

Since breaking into record highs on Feb. 26, ETH/USD longs on major crypto exchange Bitfinex have increased by 170%, with the violent Black Thursday mid-March crash failing to drive even a modest retracement among Bitfinex’s bulls.

Bitfinex ETH/USD Longs 1W September 2017 - May 2020: TradingView

ETH/BTC longs have also grown significantly in recent weeks, however, has been increasing steadily since early 2019.

Bitfinex ETH/BTC Longs 1D May 2019 - May 2020: TradingView

After increasing roughly 50% from March 2019 until the start of 2020, ETH/BTC longs shot up by a further 83%.

Altcoin longs dry up

The trading activity surrounding other top crypto assets, including several purported Ethereum killers, has dried up significantly as speculators bet on the Bitcoin halving and Ethereum’s forthcoming ETH 2.0 overhaul.

On the heels of a weak year-to-date price performance relative to other top cryptocurrencies, the third-ranked crypto asset by market cap, Ripple (XRP), saw longs plummet 40% in two days after Black Thursday.

Bitfinex XRP/USD Longs 1D August 2019 - May 2020: TradingView

Self-styled Ethereum rival Eos (EOS) saw longs fall by 20% on March 12, with EOS/USD long failing to post a meaningful recovery since.

Bitfinex EOS/USD Longs 1D September 2019 - May 2020: TradingView

Following Tezos (XTZ) longs rallying by over 450% from mid-February through mid-March, Black Thursday triggered a 70% crash in open XTZ longs.

Bitfinex XTZ/USD Longs 1D September 2019 - May 2020: TradingView

BTC Longs Produce Post-Halving Bounce

BTC longs have seen extreme volatility in recent months, having doubled over four weeks towards the end of 2019, before beginning a month-long 40% crash from Christmas.

Bitfinex BTC/USD Longs 1D September 2019 - May 2020: TradingView

Longs produced an immediate recovery and another full retracement through mid-January until mid-March, with Black Thursday driving a further 20% drop over two days.

Bitfinex BTC longs then increased 50% during the final week of April before completing a full retracement by May 13.