Ethereum-Bitcoin Ratio Plummets to Historic Lows: What’s Driving the Decline?

• Beginning 2022, the ETH/BTC ratio has been on a steady decline reaching its lowest level in the past 24 hours.
• Bitcoin has outperformed Ethereum greatly due to the excitement around a spot Bitcoin ETF approval.

The Ethereum-Bitcoin Ratio has plummeted as Bitcoin shines in the wake of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval. The ETH/BTC ratio is crucial in gauging the ETH trend. Its recent decline is a sign of weakness and a sign that bears increasingly taking control.

The ETH/BTC ratio has been on a steady decline since the Merge upgrade that was conducted in 2022. The upgrade allowed the Ethereum blockchain to transition from a proof-of-work to a proof-of-stake consensus mechanism. According to data provided by Kaiko, in the past 24 hours, the metric dropped to 0.048, its lowest level since May 2021.

This data shows that Bitcoin is outperforming Ethereum, reaching its peak level in the last 24 hours. This comes as no surprise with BTC reaching a record high of $48,000 earlier today. This price surge was triggered by rumors of Bitcoin spot ETF approval. However, these reports were later refuted, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) claiming that the agency’s X account was hacked. Following this revelation, BTC retracted to find support at $45,000.

Bitcoin will probably continue leading not only Ethereum but the rest of the market as investors go through the Fear of missing out (FoMO) phase. However, it is important to note that several financial institutions have engaged the SEC on the launch of an ether spot ETF. Already, nine Ethereum futures exchange-traded funds (ETFs) launched in October 2023 but seemingly had little impact on ETH prices.

Once a Bitcoin spot ETF is approved, investors anticipate a flock of related crypto ETFs to flood the market. Ethereum is leading the race on this, with applications already in consideration. Similar to a Bitcoin ETF ushering in institutional investors, Ethereum will also see an influx of institutional investors, driving its demand and price higher.

Ethereum (ETH) Price Jump

At the time of press, ETH has surged by more than 5% and is trading at $2,400. This pushes its weekly gains to over 4%. Despite impressing, this is far from its all-time high of $4,880 reached about 2 years ago. The second largest cryptocurrency by market cap is seemingly enjoying from investors shifting from Bitcoin to altcoins with BTC down by nearly 3% in the last 24 hours.

In the coming months, Bitcoin is likely to continue outperforming Ethereum and other altcoins. This is based on the positive sentiments surrounding Bitcoin ETFs as well as the April halving.

Analysts anticipate that Ethereum will be taking market share away from Bitcoin based on its recent drop. This was highlighted by crypto analyst TMG.

Ethereum is looking a little hot right now

Taken 4% out of #Bitcoin in just 6 hours#Ethereum has been prone to big drop offs against Bitcoin recently, i think that happens later today when the ETF is approved. pic.twitter.com/P62dMoWgcH

— TMG ₿ (@MartiniGuyYT) January 10, 2024