Finance

Ethereum Holders vs. Bitcoin Investors: Glassnode Reveals Divergent Strategies in Crypto Market

Ethereum holders are more active than Bitcoin holders, reflecting different roles: utility vs. storage.

November 16, 2025, 7:52 AM

A gold Ethereum coin prominently displayed against a bright green digital financial chart.

A close-up of a physical Ethereum cryptocurrency coin in front of a green rising chart. By 24K-Production / Shutterstock.com.

Executive Summary

Ethereum (ETH) holders exhibit significantly higher activity in moving, selling, and spending their assets compared to Bitcoin (BTC) investors, reinforcing their roles as “digital oil” and “digital gold,” respectively.

Glassnode reports that Ethereum’s long-term holders mobilize their older coins three times faster than Bitcoin’s, driven by ETH’s utility as network fuel for smart contracts, dApps, and DeFi.

Both Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs recently experienced significant outflows, with spot BTC ETFs shedding nearly $867 million and ETH funds losing $260 million during a period of market downturn.

The Story So Far

Ethereum and Bitcoin demonstrate distinct investor behaviors due to their differing fundamental roles: Bitcoin is primarily viewed as “digital gold” for long-term storage and a “digital savings asset,” leading to a preference for hoarding and low turnover, while Ethereum functions as “digital oil” by serving as network fuel and collateral for smart contracts, dApps, and DeFi, resulting in higher transaction volumes and a greater propensity for holders to move and spend their assets.

Why This Matters

The distinct investor behaviors for Bitcoin and Ethereum, with BTC largely hoarded as “digital gold” and ETH actively transacted as “digital oil” for network utility, highlight their fundamentally different roles in the crypto economy. This divergence implies that while Bitcoin may serve as a long-term store of value, Ethereum’s greater transaction volume and higher mobilization by long-term holders suggest a more dynamic asset tied to the growth and activity of its smart contract ecosystem, influencing their respective market dynamics, investment profiles, and vulnerability during market downturns, even with the introduction of ETFs.

Who Thinks What?

Blockchain analytics firm Glassnode reports that Bitcoin investors primarily treat BTC as a “digital savings asset” or “digital gold,” characterized by low turnover rates and a preference for long-term storage.

Glassnode indicates that Ethereum holders view ETH as “digital oil,” demonstrating a higher propensity to move, sell, and spend their assets due to its utility as network fuel and collateral for smart contract platforms.

Blockchain analytics firm Glassnode reports that Ethereum (ETH) holders demonstrate a significantly higher propensity to move, sell, and spend their digital assets compared to Bitcoin (BTC) investors. This behavior, observed in data collected before a recent crypto market downturn, underscores the distinct roles of the two largest cryptocurrencies, with Ethereum functioning more as “digital oil” for network utility and Bitcoin primarily as “digital gold” for long-term storage.

Divergent Investor Behavior

According to Glassnode’s analysis, Bitcoin behaves like the “digital savings asset” it was designed to be, characterized by coins largely being hoarded with low turnover rates. The report notes that more BTC supply is migrating into long-term hold wrappers rather than remaining on exchanges, indicating a preference for storage.

In contrast, Ethereum’s behavior reflects the inherent properties of a high-transaction smart contract platform. ETH is actively used as network fuel and collateral, making it both stockpiled and frequently transacted. This utility-driven activity leads to its designation as “digital oil.”

Long-Term Holder Activity

Glassnode highlighted a notable difference in the activity of long-term holders for both assets. Ethereum’s long-term holders are mobilizing their older coins at a rate three times faster than their Bitcoin counterparts. This increased willingness to part with coins among ETH holders further signals a utility-driven approach to the asset.

The core reason for Ethereum’s higher transaction volume lies in its network’s extensive use in smart contracts. These contracts power a vast array of decentralized applications (dApps), decentralized finance (DeFi) platforms, and tokenized assets, all of which require ETH for gas fees to process transactions.

Recent Market Movements

Despite the approval of spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and their trading on traditional stock exchanges, ETH’s functional role means it operates less as a pure store-of-value asset compared to BTC. However, Glassnode also noted that approximately one out of every four ETH is locked in native staking and ETFs, indicating ongoing store-of-value use cases.

The cryptocurrency market recently experienced significant outflows from established Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. On a single Thursday, spot BTC ETFs shed nearly $867 million in assets, marking one of their largest daily outflows, while nine ETH funds saw an additional $260 million bleed, according to UK asset manager Farside Investors. These outflows occurred during a rocky period for digital assets, which saw Bitcoin briefly drop below $98,500.

Current Market Snapshot

As of recent trading, Bitcoin was priced around $95,992, reflecting a nearly 6% decline over the past seven days from its all-time high of $126,088 reached in October. Ethereum traded at approximately $3,208, down 4.5% over the past week, having previously reached an all-time high of $4,946 in August.