Ether’s Struggles Against Bitcoin Reflect a Shift in Market Dynamics
Ether (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has been losing ground against bitcoin (BTC), marking its weakest bull-cycle performance relative to its larger counterpart since Ethereum’s launch in 2015.
A historical analysis of the ether-to-bitcoin ratio across previous market cycles reveals a consistent trend of underperformance. The black line in the comparative chart highlights the current cycle, which began in November 2022 when bitcoin bottomed at approximately $15,500 amid the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. With each successive cycle, ether’s relative returns against bitcoin have continued to decline.
On Wednesday, the ether-to-bitcoin ratio dropped below 0.0300, hitting a four-year low of 0.02993. The last time it reached similar levels was on Jan. 19, just before President Trump’s inauguration. This month alone, the ratio has fallen by 15%, and over the past year, it has declined by 44%.
Bitcoin is currently trading near $105,000, recovering from its recent dip to $98,000 triggered by the release of DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) program. Meanwhile, ether is hovering around $3,202 and would need to climb to approximately $3,360 to fully recover from the DeepSeek-induced downturn.
According to Andre Dragosch, head of research at Bitwise’s European division, the ether-to-bitcoin underperformance is more a reflection of bitcoin’s strength than ether’s weakness. “Ether tends to suffer from ‘middle child syndrome’—it’s not as scalable as smart contract competitors like Solana (SOL), nor is it positioned as a store-of-value asset like bitcoin,” Dragosch explained.
