Share this article
Ether Rebounds Versus Bitcoin in Relatively Quiet Trade
Technical factors suggest ether's bounce could pause at current levels.
Updated May 17, 2023, 8:07 p.m. Published May 17, 2023, 8:07 p.m.
After having declined more than 15% relative to bitcoin (BTC) in the first four months of the year, ether (ETH) over the past two weeks has narrowed its underperformance to 11%.
The recent move has come despite muted price movements for the two cryptos and amid low volume, with bitcoin trading action 25% below its 20-day moving average and ether 33% below. Bullish ETH investors likely may be anchored to its now persistently deflationary status, with token supplies contracting by 240,000 since September.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW
Don't miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newsletters
A look at relative rotation graphs (RRG) shows both bitcoin and ether currently trailing traditional finance in performance and momentum over the most recent 10 days.
Relative Rotation Graphs display the relative strength and momentum of assets to a central benchmark. In this instance, the S&P 500 serves as the benchmark, while the Nasdaq 100 and Russell 2000 also serve as analogs. The most recent RRG shows BTC and ETH falling into a lagging quadrant relative to all three indices.
For context, lagging assets within RRG’s are underperforming on the basis of both performance and momentum.
A technical look at the ETH/BTC chart shows momentum increasing alongside the improved performance, with the Relative Strength Index (RSI) up 13.6..
A look back at historical RSI levels implies that prices may stall however. Since 2015, the ETH/BTC RSI has fallen between 52 and 54 approximately 112 times, with average 30 day performance of just .002%. The data highlights bitcoin’s tendency to outperform ether historically. The ETH/BTC pair is currently trading 40% below its 2018 maximum of $0.11.
An additional 2% move higher would push ETH/BTC past the upper range of its Bollinger Bands, amplifying its recent ascent. Recent history would dictate however that the pair would be likely to revert back to its 20 day moving average of $0.07
More For You
What to know:
- As of October 2025, GoPlus has generated $4.7M in total revenue across its product lines. The GoPlus App is the primary revenue driver, contributing $2.5M (approx. 53%), followed by the SafeToken Protocol at $1.7M.
- GoPlus Intelligence's Token Security API averaged 717 million monthly calls year-to-date in 2025 , with a peak of nearly 1 billion calls in February 2025. Total blockchain-level requests, including transaction simulations, averaged an additional 350 million per month.
- Since its January 2025 launch , the $GPS token has registered over $5B in total spot volume and $10B in derivatives volume in 2025. Monthly spot volume peaked in March 2025 at over $1.1B , while derivatives volume peaked the same month at over $4B.
More For You
Crypto Markets Today: Bitcoin drifts lower as bearish trend persists
Bitcoin slipped overnight, dragging the broader crypto market lower as traders remained cautious with few external cues to provide direction.
What to know:
- BTC dropped 1.5% from its overnight high, with failure to reclaim $94,700 last week reinforcing a downtrend marked by lower highs since early October.
- The CoinDesk 20 has lost 1.6% since midnight UTC, while bitcoin dominance rose, underscoring continued underperformance across altcoins.
- The average crypto RSI sits at 38.49, suggesting the market is oversold and could be due a short-term relief rally despite the absence of clear year-end catalysts.
Top Stories
