Ethereum (ETH) is entering a new stage, expanding against BTC. The ETH/BTC ratio is at a new yearly peak, also breaking above the 365-day average.
Ethereum (ETH) is trading at 0.039 BTC, the highest level in 2025. After months of stagnation, ETH added $1,000 in a week, while BTC consolidated. ETH activity grew in the past week, with a mix of spot demand, derivative positions, and even hackers FOMO selling or liquidating their haul at peak prices.
ETH rose to the highest price in BTC terms for the year to date, as the ratio broke above its 365-day moving average. | Source: Google Finance
The ETH/BTC ratio is also above the 365-day moving average, potentially signaling a shift in sentiment. The ratio has bounced back strongly from its local bottom at 0.02 BTC. The recovery also broke the narrative that ETH and all altcoins were destined to go to zero against BTC.
Historically, the ratio peaked at 0.08 BTC, with a long way to go for a total shift in sentiment. ETH market cap dominance also expanded to 14.07%, after falling to the 9% range during the Q2 slump.
ETH/BTC ratio shows more signs of capital rotation
ETH became indispensable for several reasons, including the proliferation of stablecoins and the recovery of DeFi. The network lost most of its “fun” use cases as they migrated to chains with lower fees, but retained large-scale whale activity and liquidity.
Additionally, ETH got a boost from the rise in treasury companies, signaling that the token goes beyond utility and is now seen as a long-term reserve.
ETH also rallied strongly beyond the $4,000 tier, a rare event in the last year. The token saw a turnover of capital, with more significant allocations through corporate buyers, whales, and ETFs. Previous Cryptopolitan reporting showed ETH inflows into ETFs are up to five times higher than BTC demand.
Q3 is the most successful for ETH so far
ETH has gained over 86% in Q3 to date, with six more weeks to the end of the quarter. Historically, Q3 has been mostly bullish for ETH, with a few exceptions. The biggest net quarterly gains of 59.2% are from 2020, when ETH recovered from the lockdown shock.
ETH added over 48% in July, with 25% gains for August to date. The strong performance is yet to meet a correction, driven by a new wave of enthusiasm. As of August 15, ETH sentiment is slightly bearish for retail traders and more bullish for smart money traders.
$ETH Sentiment
CROWD = Bearish 🟥
MP = Bullish 🟩Check out sentiment and other crypto stats at https://t.co/HQDyBNv73S pic.twitter.com/tNdpqw0ebY
— Market Prophit (@MarketProphit) August 15, 2025
The current ETH recovery is also not driven only by hype and sentiment. On-chain economic activity is also at the highest pace for the whole of 2025. On-chain volume rose above $14.8B, going almost vertical in the past week.
Based on smart contract activity, the value is mostly driven by ETH and USDT transfers, the main components of the DeFi and lending economy.
L2 activity also increased, while over 75% of the Ethereum ecosystem activity happened on selected L2 chains. Base and Arbitrum remain the busiest networks with the highest transaction count.
One of the risks for ETH comes from requests to unstake ETH, as reported by Cryptopolitan. In a day, the validator queue expanded even more, with 767,526 ETH awaiting to leave the Beacon Chain and become liquid again.
