We all know that Bitcoin is the most valuable token in the cryptocurrency markets, and that it attracts the highest trading volume as well as attention from financial news media. Given these characteristics, we should be able to assume that Bitcoin traders and investors would be the most bullish of the lot, but this is not currently the case.

Data from derivatives exchange bitMEX and from trading platform Coinbase shows the market has been highly sensitive to the price of Ethereum, and that it has managed to attract the most bullish investors at a time when the cryptocurrency markets have been going through a pullback period.

In terms of overall price and trading performance, Ethereum has bested Bitcoin by about 23% this year. This has been the best performance by a cryptocurrency to a dollar within the last three months, since the crypto markets faced their worst selloff ever at the start of 2018.

While most of the volume is in Bitcoin, Ethereum continues to attract more traders than Bitcoin. This has allowed the trading of ETH/BTC pair to exceed the Bitcoin market with regards to long market positions. This is because Ethereum is attracting traders who want to trade other digital assets, or, traders who are new to cryptocurrency but still want to take part in the asset’s price increases and crashes. There is also the matter of BTC exchange-traded funds (ETF) currently trading on Wall Street, which are shaving off some market volatility, and which are making BTC/USD trades more stable. BTC is still subject to considerable speculation, but not necessarily from bullish traders who buy on the upswing.

The Ethereum market has attracted more traders because Ethereum has a clear purpose. It is designed to operate as a blockchain that allows developers to use smart contracts to run decentralized applications that manage and automate the transfer of money and/or assets. For example, Ethereum allows programmers to set up tokens and apps that run on a blockchain network that makes automated payments between users possible. This functionality makes it useful for a large number of traders and investors, especially those who use cryptocurrency to make or invest money.