The price of Ethereum has surged to almost $4,000 surpassing the value of the other altcoins on the market. While ETH is rising, other tokens such as XRP, Solana and others are not only staying the same but are actually losing value in ETH pairs. This week altcoins lost an additional 4% against Ethereum.

ETH's Breakthrough

The textbook breakout of Ethereum above resistance and a bullish continuation are pretty much sitting in the open on the first chart. Growing volume and a rising RSI support price action, confirming momentum. ETH is currently well above important moving averages, suggesting a strong trend. However, the TOTAL3/ETH chart that shows the ETH dominance ratio is collapsing, confirming the pain felt by altcoin users. 

Ethereum is being severely outperformed by altcoins, and this trend is getting worse. When capital is concentrated around the most liquid and fundamentally sound asset — in this case, Ethereum — this type of relative strength divergence is a common indicator. This is caused by a number of factors. Renewed institutional interest in Ethereum is perhaps the result of staking yields or ETF developments. 

Ethereum Dominates

Many altcoins have poor foundations and no fresh stories. The rotation of funds, as the market develops from speculative plays into majors movements, has not yet happened. XRP, SOL and other cryptocurrencies are at risk of losing value when measured in ETH, even if they remain stable in USD terms. In other words, if you are holding your preferred alt, you are not doing well on Ethereum. 

This trend may continue in the future unless altcoins experience a significant catalyst. A break above $4,000 for Ethereum would probably widen the gap. Ethereum dominance should be closely watched by investors hoping for altcoin season. If it does not shift soon, lower-cap assets are likely to experience further pain.