Ethereum Crashes 74% Against Bitcoin; Is Reversal Imminent?

Ethereum ($ETH), the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, has plunged significantly against Bitcoin ($BTC). According to Alex Thorn, Head of Research at Galaxy, Ethereum has reached fresh lows of 0.02210 $BTC per $ETH, marking a 74% decline since the blockchain’s transition from proof of work (PoW) to proof of stake (PoS).

Ethereum powers some of the most commercially key decentralized finance solutions in the digital assets market. In September 2022, Ethereum transitioned from a proof-of-work (PoW) to a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism through "The Merge" upgrade.

The performance of Ethereum’s token, Ether, underscores the bearish outlook. Concerns over Ethereum's leadership and strategy have caused the token to fall by around 47% in the past year. Bitcoin reached new all-time highs in January, while Ethereum remained distant from its all-time high.

U.S. exchange-traded funds that invest directly in Ethereum recently saw their longest stretch of daily withdrawals since their debut in July 2024, highlighting uncertain demand for the second-largest cryptocurrency.

Along similar lines, Standard Chartered has reduced its year-end Ethereum price prediction by 60% to $4,000, citing concerns about Ethereum's scalability.

Is reversal coming?

Ethereum has demonstrated larger losses compared to Bitcoin in the last 24 hours. At the time of writing, $BTC was down 2.15% in the last 24 hours to $85,123, while Ethereum was down 6.44% in this timeframe to $1,889.

Ethereum's performance against Bitcoin has been steadily declining, with no signs of breaking the pattern yet, but a reversal is possible if critical support levels hold. A potential recovery might occur if $ETH sees renewed investor interest or Bitcoin dominance falls, allowing Ethereum to reclaim lost ground.

Traders will be looking for signs of recovery or additional breakdown in the $ETH/$BTC ratio. Until then, Ethereum is in a critical state, awaiting its next major move.

The upcoming Pectra mainnet upgrade, tentatively scheduled for April 30, might help in boosting $ETH sentiment in the short term.