Author: Tom Mitchelhill, CoinTelegraph; Translated by: Wuzhu, Golden Finance

K33 Research has analyzed that the launch of a spot Ethereum exchange-traded fund (ETF) could cause the cryptocurrency to outperform Bitcoin within weeks of its launch in the United States.

K33 analysts Vetle Lunde and David Zimmerman said in a July 2 report that the ETF, expected to launch as early as July 8, is a “source of wealth” for ETH prices, while Bitcoin will face selling pressure as creditors of the $8.5 billion Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox are set to be repaid starting this week.

ETH has underperformed relative to Bitcoin for more than a year, with Bitcoin’s market-leading gains fueled by inflows of more than $14 billion into Bitcoin exchange-traded products this year.

Lunde and Zimmerman expect ETH to “fall immediately after the ETF launch,” but they note that — as later happened with Bitcoin — inflows into the fund could boost ETH’s price.

“The ETF is a solid catalyst for relative strength in ETH as summer approaches and funds accumulate, and I firmly believe the current ETH/BTC price is a low for patient traders,” Lunde wrote.

“We maintain our bullish ETH outlook, expecting net inflows equal to 0.75-1% of ETH circulating supply within 5 months of launch.”

The analyst said the market remains “stubborn” to disagree with their stance, noting that Ethereum futures are trading at a relative discount to Bitcoin futures, with ETH’s price to BTC at 0.055 BTC for every 1 ETH.

ETH’s value has been steadily declining relative to Bitcoin over the past 12 months, hitting a yearly low of 0.045 on May 24.

ETH/BTC has been falling since last year until the ETH ETF was unexpectedly approved. Source: TradingView

Ethereum’s price quickly reversed relative to Bitcoin following the SEC’s sudden decision to approve an ETH ETF, surprising analysts and seeing ETH/BTC rise to its current value of 0.055, according to TradingView.

Still, Lunde and Zimmerman said open interest in Ethereum futures is brutal, suggesting many traders are using significant leverage to bet on ETH’s potential price action ahead of an ETF launch.

ETH futures open interest surges ahead of ETF launch. Source: K33 Research