Ether’s weakness relative to bitcoin has pushed the ETH/BTC ratio to its lowest level in 10 months.

A key crypto market indicator is flashing signs of weakening risk appetite, as investors continue to favor bitcoin over ether.

The ether-to-bitcoin (ETH/BTC) ratio, widely tracked as a barometer of market sentiment, fell to 0.02835 on Tuesday—its lowest level in 10 months and the weakest reading since July 2025.

The decline reflects ether’s continued underperformance. ETH dropped more than 2% on the day, while bitcoin slipped just over 1%. Since peaking at 0.04324 in August, the ratio has now fallen by more than 35%, highlighting the growing divergence between the two assets.

The ETH/BTC ratio measures ether’s relative strength against bitcoin across major exchanges and is commonly used to gauge investor positioning. A rising ratio typically signals a shift toward higher-risk assets like ether and altcoins, indicating stronger risk appetite. Conversely, a falling ratio points to a preference for bitcoin’s relative stability, often associated with more defensive market behavior.

Historically, the pair topped 0.08 in December 2021 before entering a prolonged downtrend. Much of the weakness through 2024 and into 2025 has been attributed to bitcoin’s outperformance following the launch of U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, which drew substantial institutional demand.

The ratio eventually bottomed at 0.01770 in April 2025 amid market turbulence triggered by President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements. It later rebounded sharply, gaining around 135% over the course of 2025, before turning lower again. Despite that recovery, the ratio has since declined another 35% from its recent highs.

From a technical standpoint, the ETH/BTC ratio remains well below its 200-week moving average, currently at 0.04828, reinforcing the view that ether continues to trade in a long-term downtrend relative to bitcoin.

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