Last May 2025 marked a milestone for Ethereum. The native cryptocurrency of this network, Ether (ETH), recorded a significant dislocation in its implicit volatility against Bitcoin (BTC), reaching levels not seen in five years.
Implicit volatility, a key indicator in the world of options, measures market expectations on future price of an asset during the life of an option contract.
In simple terms, it reflects how much investors believe that an asset could move, either upwards or the decline, in a certain period. In May, ETH options showed significantly superior implicit volatility than BTCaccording to a recent report of Exchange bybit.
In early May, the implicit volatility ratio of ETH against BTC for seven -day options stood at 1.5 times greater than the implicit volatility of BTC, indicating that investors expected a price movement in ETH 50% higher than in BTC.
However, for May 16, this relationship was fired until double, marking a maximum not registered since 2020. This increase coincided with a significant fall in the implicit volatility of BTC, which broke its minimum of 35% sustained for more than 19 months, reaching levels not seen since October 2023.
For its part, the implicit volatility in the short term of ETH, although slightly below its peak of May 10, remained high.
In addition, the volatility differential was especially notable in the 30 -day options, where it reached its highest point since mid -2022, as seen in the following graph. This divergence underlines a change in market perception, with Eth positioning himself as an asset of greater dynamism against a more stable BTC.
Volatility performed: the confirmation of a trend
The implicit volatility was not the only indicator that highlighted the divergence between ETH and BTC. The volatility carried out, which measures the real movements of prices in the past, reinforced this trend.
In May, The volatility of ETH extended widely to that of BTC in several deadlinesfeeding the expectations that the disparity between both assets would continue.
May 15, The volatility ratio made seven days between ETH and BTC (white) reached its maximum pointas can be seen in the graph, closely followed by the implicit volatility relationship. This suggests that market participants not only observed greater fluctuation in ETH, but also anticipated that this trend would persist.
In fact, The volatility relationship between ETH and BTC has shown a constant increase since July 2024both in periods of increases and tensions in the market, which indicates a structural dynamic rather than an isolated event.
Factors behind Ethereum’s boom
The outstanding performance of ETH in May was no accident. Several factors converged to boost their price and volatility.
First, positive commercial news between the United States and the United Kingdom generated an upward impulse. On May 8, ETH shot more than 23%, while BTC, although also in positive field, grew approximately 10% in the same period.
Despite this rebound, ETH follows more than 50% below its maximum of January 2025 and its 2021 historical record, which suggests a wide margin for growth.
Another key catalyst was the sicking update, implemented in the Ethereum main network in May. This technical improvement optimized the scalability and network efficiencyreinforcing the confidence of investors in the Ethereum ecosystem.
In turn, the growing institutional interest played a crucial role. Just this week, on June 16, ETF of Ether reached a financial milestone, With a volume of ETH in custody that exceeded 3.9 million units for the first time Since they were issued in July 2024, as reported by cryptootics.
This increase reflects an “institutional fever” by ETH, since ETFs offer corporate investors a regulated vehicle to expose themselves to cryptocurrency.
The impact of ETF on the price of ETH is direct: managing companies must guard the underlying asset to support their actions, which reduces circulating offer and can press upwards.
In addition, companies such as BTCS Inc. and Sharplink have issued convertible bonds to finance ETH purchases without depending on their operational income, a strategy that shows confidence in the potential of cryptocurrency.
Future perspectives: an imminent take -off?
The combination of technical and fundamental signals has led analysts such as Tommaso Scarpellini, behind the Financial Serenity column, to anticipate an upward future for ETH.
According to the analyst, Cryptocurrency could “gain speed” in the coming months, driven by its growing institutional adoption and continuous improvements in the Ethereum network. In addition, ETH begins to capture the attention of companies and investment funds that seek to diversify their treasury, which could consolidate their position as a strategic asset in the financial landscape.
In this context, the dislocation in volatility between ETH and BTC is not just a technical fact, but a reflection of changing dynamics in the cryptocurrency market.
While BTC maintains its role as a value reserve, ETH is consolidated as a dynamic asset, driven by its usefulness in decentralized applications and its ability to attract institutional capital. With a price recovery and a constantly evolving ecosystem, Ethereum seems to be preparing for a new chapter in its history.
