Ether Slumps to 5-Year Low Against Bitcoin Amid Risk-Off Sentiment

Ether has fallen sharply against Bitcoin this year, with the ETH/BTC ratio plunging to its lowest level in nearly five years. The ongoing macroeconomic uncertainties and growing investor preference for more liquid and less risky assets have weighed heavily on the second-largest cryptocurrency.

As of now, 1 ETH is equivalent to just 0.02191 BTC—a level not seen since May 2020, when Ethereum traded around $200 and Bitcoin hovered near $10,000. Today, however, ETH is priced around $1,800, while BTC is holding steady at approximately $82,000, underscoring ETH’s relative underperformance.

Ether Lags Behind Bitcoin Post-Halving

What makes Ether slump particularly striking is that it comes during the 12 months following Bitcoin’s halving, a period in which ETH historically outperformed BTC in previous cycles.

On April 20, 2024, Bitcoin’s block rewards were slashed by 50% to 3.125 BTC per block, making the flagship cryptocurrency scarcer. However, unlike in past halving cycles, Ethereum has significantly underperformed this time around.

The current ETH/BTC ratio is down over 50% from its pre-halving level, marking a sharp deviation from previous cycles, when Ethereum often rallied alongside Bitcoin in the months following the event.

Part of this decline is driven by the risk-off sentiment in the broader financial markets. Rising bond yields, persistent inflation, and concerns over potential trade wars have made investors more cautious. Consequently, they are favoring safer and more liquid assets like Bitcoin, which is increasingly viewed as a digital store of value, over the more volatile Ether.

Trailing Behind Solana in 2025

Ether has also underperformed against other layer-1 assets. The SOLETH ratio, which measures the value of Solana relative to Ether, is up 24% year-to-date, currently sitting at 0.07007. This indicates that despite Solana being down 35% this year, it has still outpaced Ethereum.

According to Glassnode data, ETH’s current quarterly performance against BTC is one of its worst in several years. The last time Ethereum underperformed BTC by a similar margin was in Q3 2019, when the ratio fell to 0.0164, marking a 46% quarterly decline.