Ethereum’s underperformance against Bitcoin is largely due to competition from Solana and the weaker-than-anticipated debut of its spot ETFs.
Ethereum’s native token, Ether (ETH), plunged to its lowest point in three years against Bitcoin (BTC) on Aug. 5 amid the global market upheaval. This sharp decline dragged the ETH/BTC year-to-date returns down by 25%.
Ether is persistently underperforming Bitcoin despite the long-awaited launch of its spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the United States, which—as many analysts predicted—could become a catalyst to draw institutional capital to the Ethereum market.
Ethereum's growing underperformance versus Bitcoin aligns with its declining dominance against its top blockchain rival, Solana (SOL).