TechFlow news, March 31 — According to CoinDesk, analyst James Van Straten reported that the ETH/BTC ratio has dropped to 0.02193, hitting its lowest level in nearly five years. This indicates that Ethereum has underperformed Bitcoin by 39% year-to-date, marking the first time since Bitcoin's halving that Ethereum has lagged behind Bitcoin over the following 12 months.
In previous Bitcoin halving cycles, Ethereum typically outperformed Bitcoin during the first year after the halving. However, this cycle has seen the opposite trend, with the ETH/BTC ratio declining more than 50% within a year. This represents one of the worst quarterly performances for Ethereum relative to Bitcoin since Q3 2019, when the ratio fell to 0.0164, down 46% quarter-on-quarter. Potential reasons include:
- Deteriorating macroeconomic conditions: Tariff-driven trade war threats, persistent high inflation, and rising global bond yields have pushed investors toward assets with higher liquidity and lower risk.
- Increased safe-haven appeal of Bitcoin: Within the crypto market, Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a safer bet compared to Ethereum, similar to gold’s role in traditional markets.
