Ethereum price briefly broke past the $2,400 mark on Jan. 10, up 10% within the weekly time frame, ahead of the much-anticipated Bitcoin ETF Approval.

The crypto market experienced widespread volatility on Jan 9 after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced false Bitcoin (BTC) ETF approval in a now-denounced post on X.

Despite the raging controversy, Ethereum’s (ETH) price has maintained a steady uptrend, trading as high as $2,440 on Jan. 10. 

Ethereum vs Bitcoin: Crypto derivatives traders are betting bigger on ETH

Between Jan. 7 and Jan. 10, Ethereum’s 11% price growth performance has dwarfed Bitcoin’s 4%. Interestingly, vital derivative market metrics now suggest that ETH price could further outperform BTC if the SEC issues a timely positive verdict on Bitcoin Spot ETFs. 

Firstly, the funding rate represents the interest paid by bullish traders to inverse traders to keep their LONG futures contract positions open. As of morning trading hours Eastern time on Jan. 10, ETH currently has a Funding rate of 0.014%, which marginally exceeds currently exceeds BTC’s 0.12%

Put concisely, a higher positive funding rate in Ethereum than in Bitcoin implies increased demand for long positions in the ETH derivatives market, potentially reflecting a more optimistic sentiment.

In further confirmation that Ethereum price could outperform Bitcoin, the open interest dynamics have also flashed similar signals since the week’s turn.