Nearly a decade after its inception, Ethereum continues to chase its biggest competitor, Bitcoin, without showing consistent supremacy. A recent analysis found that Ether has outperformed Bitcoin in only 15% of trading days since its market launch in 2015. This data sheds light on the structural difficulties of the second-largest crypto asset by market capitalization.

Highlighting this imbalance, analyst James Chek shared data in a post on platform X on April 8. According to the findings, the relationship between the two assets was favorable for Ether only during rare periods, mainly from mid-2015 to mid-2017, and then in two short phases between the end of 2019 and the beginning of 2020. At other times, the dominance of Bitcoin remained unchanged.
Declining relationships: ETH vs BTC
The key element of this assessment is the ETH/BTC ratio, which measures the value of Ether compared to Bitcoin. Currently, this ratio has fallen to a five-year low, reaching 0.018 on April 9, according to TradingView data. To find such a low level, one has to go back to December 2019, when Ether fell to 125 dollars, while Bitcoin fluctuated around 7,000 dollars.
The decrease in the ratio reflects the real collapse of Ether prices, which has wiped out seven years of gains. Over the last 24 hours, the value has suffered an additional loss of 10%, falling below $1,450, a price that is even lower than the peak reached during the 2018 market cycle.
According to CoinGecko, ETH reached $1,400 in the early hours of April 9. At the same time, Bitcoin lost 6% on the same day, dropping to $75,000 — a level that is still 275% above the peak of the seven-year-old bull cycle.
There are growing concerns in the Ethereum community
Disappointment is also felt among the most ardent supporters of Ethereum. Despite their love for the project, many are beginning to face a harsh reality: stagnation. Web3 researcher Stacey Moore commented in a post on X on April 8 that, despite the love for Ethereum, it is clear that the number of active addresses on the network has hardly changed over the past four years.
This data risks pointing to a significant lack of organic growth, a factor that could explain ETH's inability to recover from Bitcoin.
Hopes Shift to Level-2
Despite concerns related to activity on the main network, some analysts remind us that a significant portion of traffic has moved to second layer networks known as Ethereum Layer-2. According to data provided by L2Beat, these scalable solutions demonstrate remarkable growth in terms of value locked on-chain, indicating that the Ethereum ecosystem is indeed evolving, but in different directions.
This may represent a glimmer of hope for an asset that continues to be a cornerstone of the world of decentralized finance (DeFi), despite the falling price.
Technical support: are we approaching a possible rebound?
On the technical front, some industry analyses offer less dramatic indications. Based on the fractal patterns seen in the 2018 and 2022 cycles, more optimistic observers believe that ETH is now at extremely oversold levels. This could indicate that the bottom is near, estimated at around $1,000.
Such technical indicators suggest that a consolidation phase may occur before a potential recovery. However, at the moment, the narrative is dominated by concern and unfavorable comparisons with Bitcoin, which continues to excel not only in performance but also in interest from institutional investors.
Identity in the crisis of Ether
The overall picture highlights the growing pressure on Ethereum. Despite its innovative architecture for smart contracts and the vast ecosystem that has emerged as a result, after the initial enthusiasm, Ether seems to have lost some of its appeal.
This is compounded by the complex relationship between the price of the native token and the actual adoption of the Ethereum platform. The slowdown in the growth of active addresses, along with the increasing perception of technological stagnation, risks further undermining the trust of investors and users.
"html Final Thoughts"
Ultimately, Ethereum is at a critical reflection point regarding its direction. After nearly ten years of operation, the power dynamics with Bitcoin paint an unambiguous picture: 85% of trading days the first crypto asset dominates. The task for the future will be to rethink itself or at least restructure to return to more effective competition in the market.
Eyes are focused on layer two solutions, on the possibilities of technical recovery, and on potential strategic moves that could bring Ether back to the forefront. But at the same time, time is running out, and Bitcoin continues to gain momentum.