$ETH is down 7% in 24 hours, sitting near $2,264 after tagging $2,236. Ugly candle. But zoom out one level and look at ETH priced in bitcoin, and the picture changes: the ETH/BTC ratio is still up about 2.6% on the week.
That's the part most people miss on red days like this. When everything bleeds, the question isn't only "how much did ETH drop?" It's "did it drop more or less than the thing it competes with for capital?"
What the ratio is doing
ETH/BTC is at 0.02966 on Binance spot. On Oct 30 it printed a low of 0.02835, the weakest level of the last three months. From there it climbed for five days and on Nov 4 closed at 0.03013, the first daily close back above 0.030 since mid-October. Today it gave back about 1.9%, but it's still holding above where it was a week ago (0.0289).
So the ratio pulled back today, yet the week-long bounce off the lows is still intact.
The bigger frame
Over 30 days the story is less friendly. ETH is down 16% in that window, while $BTC is down about 10.7%. That gap is exactly why the ratio is still 5.9% lower than a month ago. Early October it was hanging around 0.0315, then it broke down hard in a few sessions.
Over 90 days, though, the two are almost tied: ETH +18.2%, BTC +17.6%, ratio basically flat (+0.5%). In other words, ETH hasn't really lost the quarter to bitcoin. It lost October, and it's been clawing some of that back in November.
Three levels I'm watching on ETH/BTC
1. 0.0300. The round number it just reclaimed on a closing basis and lost again today. Getting back above it and holding would say the Oct 30 low was a real bottom for the ratio.
2. 0.0284. The Oct 30 low. If the ratio slides back there while BTC is also falling, that's the classic "alts get hit twice" scenario, and ETH would likely underperform any further market flush.
3. 0.0315. The early-October shelf. That's where the breakdown started, so it's the first area where sellers who got trapped may want out.
Why it matters even if you only trade dollars
The ratio tells you which side of the risk curve the market is leaning on. When ETH/BTC rises during a dip, money is rotating into ETH rather than fleeing it. When it falls during a dip, ETH tends to drop harder than BTC, and the bounce is weaker too.
Right now we're in a mixed state. In dollar terms both are red: BTC is down 5.2% to around $76,380 after trading as high as $80,962 in the last 24 hours, and ETH's 24h range was $2,236 to $2,444. In ratio terms, ETH is still ahead of where it started the week.
How I'd frame the next few days
If BTC stabilizes above today's low near $75,568 and ETH/BTC holds above 0.029, the November ratio bounce stays on track. If BTC keeps sliding and the ratio loses 0.0290, I'd expect ETH to lag on the way down and treat any bounce with more caution.
Neither outcome is guaranteed. Volatility is elevated, and a single macro headline can flip both charts in an hour. Size positions so a bad day like today doesn't force your hand.
What's your read: does ETH/BTC reclaim 0.030 this month, or retest the Oct 30 low first?
Not financial advice.