Continued underperformance by ether has driven the ETH/BTC ratio down to a 10-month low.

A widely watched crypto market indicator is pointing to a cooling risk appetite, with investors continuing to allocate more heavily toward bitcoin than ether.

The ether-to-bitcoin (ETH/BTC) ratio, a closely followed gauge of relative strength between the two largest cryptocurrencies, slipped to 0.02835 on Tuesday. That marks a 10-month low and its weakest level since July 2025.

The move reflects persistent underperformance from ether. On the day, ETH declined more than 2%, while bitcoin fell a little over 1%. From its August peak of 0.04324, the ETH/BTC ratio has now dropped over 35%, highlighting a widening performance gap.

Market participants often use the ETH/BTC ratio as a proxy for risk sentiment in crypto markets. When the ratio rises, it typically signals greater appetite for higher-beta assets such as ether and other altcoins. When it falls, it suggests investors are rotating into bitcoin, which is generally seen as the more stable and defensive asset.

The ratio reached a high above 0.08 in December 2021 before entering a prolonged multi-year downtrend. A significant driver of weakness through 2024 and into 2025 was bitcoin’s sustained outperformance following the launch of U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, which attracted substantial institutional capital.

The pair later hit a cycle low of 0.01770 in April 2025 amid volatility triggered by President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff announcements. It then rebounded sharply, rising about 135% through the later part of 2025, before losing momentum again. Despite that recovery phase, the ratio has since fallen roughly 35% from its recent highs.

From a technical standpoint, the ETH/BTC ratio remains well below its 200-week moving average of 0.04828, reinforcing the view that ether continues to lag bitcoin within a broader long-term downtrend.