In the latest ETHBTC News, the weekly ETH/BTC ratio is showing a strong indication of a bearish trend, with the ETHBTC ratio on the verge of death cross, but as retail investors question the meaning, explore this deep-dive into Ether’s underperformance compared to Bitcoin.
It’s that time of the cycle when we all panic over crypto’s technical analysis boogeyman: the death cross.
In trading terms, a death cross occurs when the short-term moving average plunges below the long-term one, hinting at a shift from clear skies to potential bear territory.
Recently, the weekly ETH/BTC ratio indicated a bearish trend close to flashing a death cross, suggesting prolonged underperformance of altcoins compared to Bitcoin.
ETHBTC .05 being defended hard.
A little history: in late 2020/early 2021 (clubhouse days) bitcoin maxis hosted “the death of ETH” party, celebrating a .03 ETHBTC ratio. ETH proceeded to immediately rip as if a divine joke.
Will history repeat or does Solana change things? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/Ui3oityHwr
— Autism Capital 🧩 (@AutismCapital) April 3, 2024
According to options market data, ETH is expected to underperform in the near term as the ratio dropped nearly -10% so far this year.
Many are hopeful that the upcoming Bitcoin Halving will reverse these bearish indicators in the altcoin markets. Indeed, Ethereum has been down by 6.3% over the last week, currently trading around $3,400.
Ethereum vs. Bitcoin: The Dance of ETHBTC Dominance
(ETHBTC)
Since 2017, the crypto markets have ebbed between Bitcoin’s command and altcoins taking the lead.
A key sign of the altcoin ecosystem has been the ETH/BTC ratio. This year, however, it’s taken a -10% nosedive to 0.049, signaling a change in the air.
The upshot is the short-term price movements for Ethereum and select altcoins have been so bad over the last 50 days that the average from the last 200 days is better.
❤💛💚💙
Ethereum is still bleeding heavily.
ETH/BTC ratio is at 0.0486 now.
It means that Ethereum is only 4.86% of Bitcoin's price.
At a Flippening, it needs to be 16.0%
Ethereum blew its load too early in 2022 with the Merge Pump pic.twitter.com/uZPccUUNyS
— yourfriendSOMMI ❤️💛💚💙 (@yourfriendSOMMI) April 5, 2024
Singapore’s QCP Capital noticed ETH’s struggle, noting a “critical support level” breach and a downturn driven by a sell-off in ETH calls.
The derivatives exchange Deribit also showed Ether puts (bets on price drops) are outpricing calls (bets on price rises), suggesting a bearish horizon – meanwhile, Bitcoin retains a call bias.
But worse than Ether, despite attempts at rallying, Polkadot’s price remains a shadow of its former self, making a significant recovery an uphill battle.
(DOTUSDT)
With the Relative Strength Index (RSI)—an oscillator that measures the speed and change of price movements—remaining in a bearish zone, DOT faces a death cross on its chart, potentially dragging its price even lower.
The Bottom Line: What Does ETH/BTC Ratio Mean Ahead of Halving?
Ethereum often follows Bitcoin into death cross territory but rarely goes at it alone.
This could signal a shift in the altcoin markets, as markets weigh more heavily into Bitcoin ahead of the April 20 Halving event.
That said, a short-time frame death cross doesn’t mean much if you hold Ethereum or other altcoins for the long term – especially at the beginning of an emerging bull run.
These indicators affect traders more than investors, where leverage investors get rekt on both sides amid big volatility.
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Disclaimer: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. You could lose all of your capital.