Ethereum surges nearly 70% in Q3, but its order books thin out against Bitcoin

Ether had a great quarter. Its order books did not. Ethereum’s native token posted a gain of nearly 70% in the third quarter of 2026, comfortably beating Bitcoin’s roughly 42% climb. But a CoinGecko analysis, cited by CoinDesk on October 5, 2026, found that the liquidity underneath that rally got noticeably thinner as prices rose. A big rally on a shallower foundation The CoinGecko data covers the period from July 6 to September 30. Over that stretch, ether outpaced Bitcoin by close to 28 percentage points on price. CoinGecko measured median daily market depth within ±0.15% of the mid-price. By that measure, ETH’s depth now sits at only 35% to 45% of Bitcoin’s equivalent level. In the comparable period of 2025, that ratio was at least 60%. In absolute terms, ETH’s depth in that tight band averaged around $13 to $14 million across the major exchanges studied. The analysis drew on data from eight major centralized exchanges. Most major trading venues still maintained more than $1 million in depth on both the bid and ask sides. Retail traders buying or selling modest amounts are unlikely to notice much difference. With less money parked near the current price, big orders have to reach...