A closely watched indicator of the relative strength of ether versus bitcoin hit a three-month high, supported by growing network activity and record stablecoin inflows on Ethereum.
The ether-to-bitcoin ratio traded near 0.0313 on Wednesday, up from the 2026 low around 0.028 in February, but still well below the January 18 high near 0.038. Ether has gained 4% over the past seven days to trade near $2,325, outpacing Bitcoin’s 3.9% move over the same period.
The ETH/BTC ratio tracks the relative price of ether versus bitcoin on crypto exchanges and is one of the most widely followed risk appetite indicators in the digital asset market.
A rising ratio indicates that capital is flowing into ether and, by extension, the riskier parts of the crypto ecosystem. A declining ratio indicates a preference for the relative safety of Bitcoin.
The pair peaked above 0.08 in late 2021 before entering a prolonged decline that accelerated through 2024 and into 2025, dragged down by Bitcoin ETF-driven demand, weakening fee revenue on Ethereum’s base layer following the Dencun upgrade, and broader altcoin rotation.
When ether outperforms bitcoin on risky days rather than simply following suit, this historically suggests that capital is starting to rotate rather than continuing the same trade. The signal strengthens if ether holds up better than bitcoin during the next pullback.
Part of the case for a sustainable move rests on Ethereum’s on-chain fundamentals, which deviate from the token’s depressed valuation.
New network users increased 82% quarter-over-quarter in the first quarter to 284,000, according to Artemis data, while total transactions reached a record 200.4 million for the quarter, an increase of 43% from the previous period.
Stablecoin supply on Ethereum also reached an all-time high of $180 billion, up 150% over the past three years, per Token Terminal. The network owns around 60% of the global stablecoin market, cementing its dominance as the primary settlement layer for token dollars and suggesting long-term demand anchoring for ETH, even if short-term price action lags.
However, ether is still more than 50% below its 52-week high of $4,831, and the ratio should reclaim the 0.035 area at a weekly close to prove that the recovery has legs beyond a short-term rebound.
