BITCOIN | America’s Largest Bank Says Bitcoin Dominance as Institutional Crypto Asset is Unlikey to Change

JPMorgan has said Ethereum and the broader altcoin market are unlikely to close the performance gap with bitcoin unless the crypto industry sees a significant revival in network activity and real-world blockchain adoption, according to a research note.

The bank said ether has continued to lag bitcoin both in price performance and institutional investor flows since the crypto market de-leveraging event in October 2025, highlighting weaker demand across decentralized finance and alternative blockchain ecosystems.

Since the October 2025 liquidation event, spot Bitcoin ETFs have clawed back about two‑thirds of their outflows versus only about one‑third for spot ETH ETFs with CME futures data showing institutional bitcoin exposure nearly restored while ETH futures remain well below prior levels.

Analysts at the Wall Street lender said that while Ethereum’s upcoming technical upgrades could improve scalability and lower transaction costs, previous network improvements have failed to generate a meaningful increase in on-chain activity or user adoption.

“Altcoins remain constrained by weak liquidity, shallow market depth and fading investor confidence,” JPMorgan said, adding that repeated protocol exploits, slowing DeFi growth and limited mainstream use cases continue to weigh on the sector.

The comments come as bitcoin continues to dominate crypto market inflows during a period of macro-economic uncertainty and rising global interest rates. The bank highlighted spot ETFs as the clearest sign of this dominance saying altcoins ‘may continue to underperform Bitcoin (BTC)’ unless there is ‘meaningful improvement’ in network activity, decentralized finance (DeFi) adoption and real‑world applications.

JPMorgan’s assessment reflects a broader debate within the crypto industry over whether alternative blockchain networks can generate sustained economic activity beyond speculation and token trading.

The report also noted that institutional investors continue to favor bitcoin due to its perceived role as a macro hedge and store of value while many altcoin ecosystems have struggled to rebuild momentum following

• a series of hacks,
• declining token incentives, and
• reduced venture capital funding

over the past year.

Ethereum supporters argue the network is positioning itself for long-term adoption through scaling upgrades, tokenization infrastructure, and enterprise blockchain applications. At the Consensus 2026 conference, several Ethereum ecosystem participants said market demand would eventually ‘catch up’ with the network’s technological development.

JPMorgan however says upgrades alone will not rescue ETH’s relative trade.

Unless Ethereum can reignite on‑chain activity and demonstrate that those flows translate into fee revenue and token demand, JPMorgan expects Bitcoin to keep leading both on price performance and in capturing the next leg of institutional inflows.

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