Ether-Bitcoin Ratio on Bullish Path After Triangle Breakout, Trader Says

We could see a bears in disbelief rally in ether in coming weeks, Decentral Park's Lewis Harland said.

AccessTimeIconJan 4, 2023 at 12:47 p.m. UTC
Updated Jan 4, 2023 at 2:14 p.m. UTC
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The ether-bitcoin (ETH/BTC) ratio could rally toward a two-month high, according to Lewis Harland, a portfolio manager at Decentral Park Capital.

That's because the ratio has broken out of a multi-month triangle pattern, often called a wedge, indicating a bull victory in the prolonged tug-of-war with bears.

"ETH/BTC has broken out of its multi-month wedge to the upside," Harland told CoinDesk, adding that the breakout has opened the doors for a rally toward the early December high of 0.07636 and early November highs of nearly 0.078.

The breakout suggests the path of least resistance for ETH/BTC is on the higher side. (TradingView, CoinDesk)
The breakout suggests the path of least resistance for ETH/BTC is on the higher side. (TradingView, CoinDesk)

The chart shows ether-bitcoin ratio has blasted through the upper end of the three-month triangle or wedge identified by trendlines connecting highs registered in September, October and December and lows hit in October, November and December.

Triangles occur when both bulls and bears are unwilling or unable to lead the price action, leading to volatility compression. Hence, an eventual breakout or breakdown often brings a big bullish or bearish move.

In other words, ETH/BTC looks set for a notable rally.

"It may be we see a 'bears in disbelief' rally for ETH over the coming weeks," Harland said, citing the Ethereum network's upcoming Shanghai upgrade that will open withdrawals of staked ether and expected reduction of rollup fees for users after the implementation of EIP4844 as bullish catalysts for the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, could continue to lag ether due to miner selling.

"Miners are becoming more distressed, indicated by higher hashrate where the market may become concerned miners selling inventory to remain operational and competitive," Harland noted.

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Omkar Godbole

Omkar Godbole is a Co-Managing Editor on CoinDesk's Markets team.


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