While Bitcoin has faced strong bullish momentum in recent weeks, achieving new all-time highs consistently for days, Ethereum has been an underperformer, unable to catch up with BTC’s bullish pace.
Even compared to other crypto assets (altcoins) in the market, Ethereum has failed to make a major rally that melts faces.
Instead, as Bitcoin achieved a peak above $93,000, leading the overall crypto market in a bullish market, Ethereum has only been able to surge to just $3,396 over the same period BTC broke multiple resistances to achieve consistent new highs.
So far, ETH remains roughly a 37.5% decrease away from its all-time high of $4,878, seen 3 years ago in November 2021. At the time of writing, the asset faces a correction alongside the rest of the crypto market, including Bitcoin. ETH has declined by 2.3% in the past day, currently trading at $3,023.
Why is Ethereum Struggling to Catch Up?
The underperformance of Ethereum relative to Bitcoin has caught the attention of market analysts. One key observation comes from a CryptoQuant analyst known as Darkfost, who provided a possible explanation for Ethereum’s price stagnation.
According to Darkfost, the taker buy-sell ratio is a crucial metric to consider, particularly on the Binance exchange. This ratio is an indicator of short-term market sentiment, and when it remains below 1, it suggests there is more selling pressure than buying interest.
It can also indicate a hesitation among traders to accumulate ETH at current levels, which could contribute to a lagging price performance.
Ethereum taker buy-sell ratio. | Source: CryptoQuant
Darkfost noted:
The taker buy-sell ratio on Binance remains bearish, as it has been below 1 most of the time over the past month. This indicates that traders are more willing to sell than buy ETH, which could explain why ETH is currently underperforming compared to BTC.
Is There Still Hope For ETH?
Despite Ethereum’s struggle to match Bitcoin’s gains, some analysts remain optimistic about the long-term potential of ETH.
For example, a well-known crypto analyst, Kingpin Crypto, expressed a bullish sentiment regarding ETH at its current price levels. In a recent post on X, Kingpin Crypto suggested that ETH trading around the $3,000 mark presents a notable buying opportunity.
$ETH – Buy with conviction around the orange line and retire.
I know the BTC pair is underwhelming and feels like it will be down only forever.
However, I am telling you…
Ethereum will make a NEW ATH this cycle. pic.twitter.com/T2r2TDmkb7
— Kingpin Crypto (@Kingpincrypto12) November 15, 2024
Similarly, another crypto analyst, Yoddha, shared an analysis indicating a potentially bullish pattern for Ethereum. According to the chart shared by Yoddha, ETH’s historical price movements often include a phase of retesting followed by a sharp surge in value.
Yoddha highlighted that Ethereum may have already completed its retest phase, suggesting that a strong price rally could be on the horizon.
The chart labelling “we are here” points out the current position of ETH within this pattern, implying that a significant upward move may soon follow.
Featured image created with DALL-E, Chart from TradingView
