Long-term holders of Ethereum (ETH) have reached a milestone, with the amount owned now at 70% since Dec. 1. This puts Ethereum ahead of Bitcoin (BTC), which is just shy of 70%, according to blockchain analytics firm IntoTheBlock. This rise in the proportion of ETH held by long-term holders is seen as demonstrating conviction in the cryptocurrency’s long-term potential.

Crypto analyst Raoul Pal has predicted that 2024 could see ETH and BTC repeat their 2021 cycle, where ETH went on to outpace BTC’s performance, growing by 254% compared to BTC’s 45%. This sentiment is echoed by JPMorgan analysts, who forecast that ETH will outperform BTC and other digital assets in market price performance by 2024, thanks to the EIP-4844 upgrade, known as protodanksharding, set for launch in the first half of 2024.

ETH is currently priced at $2,300, up 4.3% in the past seven days and 88.6% in the past 12 months. Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin recently made headlines by transferring 500 ETH, valued at over $1 million, to Coinbase. This follows a series of large transfers made by Buterin in September and his statement in October that he hadn’t sold Ether for personal gain since 2018. This activity, along with Buterin’s clarification that the transfers were for philanthropy rather than personal gain, has led to speculation about his crypto holdings.