Ethereum’s Q3 gain outpaced Bitcoin, but liquidity relative to Bitcoin has clearly narrowed
According to a CoinGecko report, in Q3 Ethereum’s native token, ETH, outperformed Bitcoin: its price rose 70%, exceeding Bitcoin’s gain of 42%. However, during the same period ETH’s liquidity relative to Bitcoin clearly narrowed. Between July 6 and September 30, ETH’s average daily market median depth was only 35% to 45% of Bitcoin’s, whereas it was at least 60% during the same period last year. Market depth measures the total U.S. dollar value of buy and sell orders within a certain range around the current price. ETH’s depth within the 0.15% price range is $13 million to $14 million. CoinGecko says that within this range ETH still maintains relatively good liquidity, with depth on both the buy and sell sides across most exchanges staying above $1 million. Liquidity for other major tokens has also been thinning. Solana’s SOL depth within the 2% price range fell from about $28 million per side last year to about $20 million this year. XRP’s total depth has remained stable at around $30 million, but the order book is skewed toward the buy side: buy orders are about $18 million and sell orders about $14 million. CoinGecko notes that XRP’s market cap is about 40% higher than SOL, but depth within the 2% price range is lower. The reason is that SOL’s average daily trading volume is still 25% higher than XRP’s.
According to a CoinGecko report, in Q3 Ethereum’s native token, ETH, outperformed Bitcoin: its price rose 70%, exceeding Bitcoin’s gain of 42%. However, during the same period ETH’s liquidity relative to Bitcoin clearly narrowed. Between July 6 and September 30, ETH’s average daily market median depth was only 35% to 45% of Bitcoin’s, whereas it was at least 60% during the same period last year. Market depth measures the total U.S. dollar value of buy and sell orders within a certain range around the current price. ETH’s depth within the 0.15% price range is $13 million to $14 million. CoinGecko says that within this range ETH still maintains relatively good liquidity, with depth on both the buy and sell sides across most exchanges staying above $1 million. Liquidity for other major tokens has also been thinning. Solana’s SOL depth within the 2% price range fell from about $28 million per side last year to about $20 million this year. XRP’s total depth has remained stable at around $30 million, but the order book is skewed toward the buy side: buy orders are about $18 million and sell orders about $14 million. CoinGecko notes that XRP’s market cap is about 40% higher than SOL, but depth within the 2% price range is lower. The reason is that SOL’s average daily trading volume is still 25% higher than XRP’s.