Start now →

ETH/BTC ratio falls to 10-month low as ether continues to underperform bitcoin

By James Van Straten · Published May 12, 2026 · 3 min read · Source: CoinDesk
BitcoinEthereumTrading
MarketsShare this articleX (Twitter)LinkedInFacebookEmail

ETH/BTC ratio falls to 10-month low as ether continues to underperform bitcoin

Widely followed crypto market gauge signals weakening risk appetite as investors continue favoring bitcoin over ether.

By James Van Straten|Edited by Oliver Knight May 12, 2026, 10:20 a.m. 2 min readMake preferred on
ETH/BTC (TradingView)
ETH/BTC (TradingView)

What to know:

One widely watched indicator for assessing whether the crypto market is in a bullish or bearish phase is the ether-to-bitcoin (ETH/BTC) ratio.

On Tuesday, the ratio fell to 0.02835, its lowest level in 10 months and the weakest reading since July 2025. The decline comes as ether dropped more than 2% on Tuesday, compared with bitcoin’s decline of just over 1%. The ETH/BTC ratio is now down more than 35% from its August high of 0.04324.

The ETH/BTC ratio measures ether’s relative performance against bitcoin across crypto exchanges and is considered a key gauge of market risk appetite. A rising ratio typically signals that investors are rotating capital into ether and other higher risk crypto assets, reflecting stronger risk sentiment. Conversely, a falling ratio suggests investors are favoring bitcoin’s relative stability and defensive characteristics.

The pair peaked above 0.08 in December 2021 before entering a prolonged multi year downtrend. Much of the weakness through 2024 and into 2025 was driven by bitcoin’s outperformance following the launch and success of U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, which attracted significant institutional inflows.

The ratio eventually bottomed at 0.01770 in April 2025 during the market turmoil surrounding President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements. It then rebounded sharply, gaining roughly 135% later in 2025 before reversing course again. Despite that recovery, the ratio has since fallen another 35% from its recent highs.

Technically, the ETH/BTC ratio remains substantially below its 200 week moving average, currently at 0.04828, reinforcing the view that ether remains in a long term bear market relative to bitcoin.

Bitcoin NewsEthereum News

More For You

Beyond IBIT: A sports betting ETF bitcoin traders may want to watch

By Omkar Godbole|Edited by Jamie Crawley11 minutes ago
Magnifying glass. (Lucas23/Pixabay)

The Roundhill Sports Betting & iGaming ETF (BETZ) and bitcoin share a strong positive correlation, with an interesting twist.

What to know:

Read full storyLatest Crypto News Magnifying glass. (Lucas23/Pixabay)

Beyond IBIT: A sports betting ETF bitcoin traders may want to watch

11 minutes ago
Daytrading bitcoins financial markets at a coffeeshop. (Austin Distel/Unsplash)

Galaxy Digital to manage Sharplink’s new $125 million onchain yield play

1 hour ago
Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood

Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest chases Circle stock as it hits a 2-month high

1 hour ago
Chart market

Anthropic warns against unauthorized stock exposure as token markets imply trillion-dollar valuation

1 hour ago
(Markus Winkler/Unsplash)

Bitcoin miner MARA sold $1.5 billion of bitcoin as it shifts toward AI infrastructure

2 hours ago
vote

Aave launches binding Arbitrum vote to move $71 million in disputed ETH

3 hours ago
Top StoriesSenator Tim Scott (Jesse Hamilton/CoinDesk)

Clarity Act, in the flesh, unveiled by U.S. Senate Banking Committee before hearing

5 hours ago
Michael Burry attends the "The Big Short" New York premiere at Ziegfeld Theater on Nov. 23, 2015.

Bitcoin briefly hits $82,000, SOL, DOGE higher as Michael Burry warns of stock crash

5 hours ago
Michael Saylor & James Van Straten (CoinDesk)

'A big nothing burger': A Q&A with Strategy's Michael Saylor on selling bitcoin

14 hours ago
Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater. (CoinDesk archives)

'Bitcoin transactions can be monitored’: Ray Dalio explains why central banks won’t touch BTC

4 hours ago
Bitcoin hero image

Bitcoin’s floor looks firmer at $80,000, but traders still don’t trust the breakout

6 hours ago
This article was originally published on CoinDesk and is republished here under RSS syndication for informational purposes. All rights and intellectual property remain with the original author. If you are the author and wish to have this article removed, please contact us at [email protected].

NexaPay — Accept Card Payments, Receive Crypto

No KYC · Instant Settlement · Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay

Get Started →