5 reasons why Ethereum could outperform Bitcoin in December and January

Over the past two years, Bitcoin has come back strong from the crypto winter of 2022. It was a tough year-long correction cycle, complete with a series of cash crises and liquidations from some big blockchain names.

The crisis was so devastating that some Web3 founders who broke the law even went to jail after that broad market correction.

But BTC, the oldest, longest and most secure Satoshi chain, steadily rose support levels throughout 2023 before melting this year.

2025: Ethereum at a glance

Meanwhile, Ethereum and altcoin prices have followed Bitcoin’s rise. However, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization has failed to move with the same enthusiasm, boosting the fortunes of the little orange coin.

What characterizes Bitcoin is its stated simplicity as a global calculator for small sums representing large amounts of value locked by a secure computer hashing protocol and market forces.

By comparison, Ethereum is designed to handle greater complexity as a global computer for anything you want. The market appreciates its potential to reliably host powerful smart contracts on a network governed by rules imposed by computer programming rather than trusted rulers policed ​​by civil authorities.

Ethereum’s biggest challenge right now is simplifying complexity rather than stagnating while remaining a truly automated protocol and roundtable for its users.

Smart contract platform co-founder Vitalik Buterin highlighted this challenge in a December 7 post on he wrote.

As Ethereum’s leadership team guides its development, here are five reasons why cryptocurrency exchange values ​​for its ETH tokens could eclipse BTC’s percentage growth over the next 60 days.

1. Ethereum technical analysis

As popular analyst Cryptos Batman recently told his followers in a post on X, Ethereum price recently broke a 3-year downtrend line. That could signal a reversal of the bullish trend, with Ether taking flight like Bitcoin has in recent months.

Ethereum breaks 3-year downtrend line

For the first time in 3 years, $ETH It has closed a candle body above its upper downtrend line.

This week’s retest is a healthy sign, setting the stage for a sustainable rally. Opportunities like this don’t come around often. Don’t miss it! pic.twitter.com/9iJe3PhXbL

– BATMAN ⚡ (@CryptosBatman) December 9, 2024

“For the first time in 3 years, $ETH has closed a candle body above its upper downtrend line,” wrote Cryptos Batman. “This week’s retest is a healthy sign, setting the stage for a sustainable rebound. Opportunities like this don’t come around often. Don’t miss it!”

2. Excellent prospects for victory

In addition to a strong technical backdrop for an Ether bull run, the political/regulatory situation for the asset could not be more favorable.

A pro-growth crypto policy was a signature Trump campaign promise. This is great for the blockchain industry in general, but could be especially auspicious for Ethereum prices on the exchange.

Ethereum and its ERC20s have always been less secure than Bitcoin in the face of regulatory uncertainty, so its price has more to gain from a pro-growth administration that is friendly to the decentralized finance business.

3. Is the Santa Claus rally for Ethereum coming?

In the history of liquid financial markets for tradable assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies, there is usually a “Santa Claus” or year-end price rally that extends into January. This is often the most profitable part of the calendar, when these assets make their biggest gains in the foreign exchange markets.

So far, this pattern has held true in the experience of the Bitcoin and altcoin markets, with BTC and others like Ethereum making big jumps up the chart in December and January.

During the most recent Santa Claus rally immediately after the Bitcoin halving in 2020-21, such as the current December-January period for 2024-2025, ETH’s price performance far outpaced that of BTC.

Here are the numbers from that cycle:

The high price of Bitcoin on December 21, 2022 It was $24,059.. But on January 18, 2023, its maximum was $37,299. Meanwhile, Ethereum’s high price on December 21, 2022 It was $646.. However, on January 18, 2023, Ether was trading at a high of $1,259. So BTC rose 55% while ETH jumped 95%.

4. BTC already crushed ATHs in 24, Ether is waiting

As long as the fundamentals of the value proposition and market conditions remain in line, the trend of “reversion to the mean” or a return to the average trend line remains an important factor to consider in the price of a cryptocurrency.

What goes up must come down and what stays down has nowhere to go but up again. Consequently, it appears that average Ethereum prices on crypto exchanges are gearing up to do just that in the coming markets.

Bitcoin has already melted the chart in a way that Ether has not so far in this macro market halving cycle. Remember, Bitcoin has already surpassed its previous all-time high prices. Ethereum has yet to mark its previous record this cycle. That means alt-season is still ahead if markets retrace past crypto trends.

5. Institutions are catching up with Ethereum

While Bitcoin is firmly in the regulated and safe column for institutional investors on Wall Street, altcoins have yet to achieve this “most favored nation” status with US financial and commodity regulators.

Ethereum stands out from the rest of the altcoins because it appears to be on its way to Bitcoin’s level of widespread acceptance. At least it has spot ETF products for regulated investors like Bitcoin.

However, the trend towards an increase Institutional adoption of Ethereum is a tailwind for its price, which markets are counting on as exchanges continually review Ether’s valuation.