After months of underperformance, Ethereum is showing signs of life against Bitcoin. The ETH/BTC ratio climbed to around 0.0313 this week, its highest point in three months, after bottoming near 0.028 in February. It is still well below the January peak of 0.038, but the directional shift is drawing attention.

Over the past seven days, Ether gained roughly 4%, slightly outpacing Bitcoin’s 3.9% move. That spread is small in isolation, but it matters because it reflects a potential rotation dynamic that traders watch closely at this stage of a market cycle.

ETF Inflows Are Picking Up

One of the clearest signals behind the ratio move is Ethereum ETF flows. Spot Ether ETFs pulled in approximately $187 million in net inflows during the week ending April 10, their strongest weekly figure of 2026. Cumulative net inflows into spot Ethereum ETFs have now crossed $11.68 billion.

That compares to a more mixed picture for Bitcoin ETFs. Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw around $471 million in daily net inflows on April 6, their strongest single day in over a month, but overall April flows have been modest. Bitcoin ETFs recorded roughly $1.32 billion in inflows in March, but that pace has slowed significantly so far this month.

The divergence suggests some institutional capital is starting to look for relative value in Ethereum after a prolonged stretch of Bitcoin dominance.

On-Chain Data Backs the Story

The ETF rotation is not happening in a vacuum. Ethereum’s underlying network metrics are improving.

New users on Ethereum surged 82% quarter-over-quarter in Q1, reaching 284,000. The stablecoin supply on Ethereum hit an all-time high of $180 billion, up 150% over three years, with USDT accounting for $80.7 billion and USDC contributing another $51.8 billion. Ethereum now controls roughly 60% of total stablecoin supply across all chains.

Stablecoin growth matters because it is a reliable leading indicator of DeFi activity. More stablecoins on-chain means deeper lending pools, more efficient DEX liquidity, and ultimately more fee revenue for the network. It is not a guarantee of price appreciation, but it is a healthier baseline than the alternative.

Context: Ethereum Is Still Down Sharply

Before reading too much into the ratio bounce, the broader picture deserves acknowledgment. Ether is trading around $2,325, still more than 50% below its 52-week high of $4,831. The ETH/BTC ratio would need to reclaim the 0.035 zone on a weekly close before analysts would call the trend convincingly reversed.

The current move could be a short-squeeze bounce rather than a structural rotation. Bitcoin trading near $74,000 and US-Iran peace negotiations improving macro sentiment have lifted crypto broadly this week, and Ethereum often amplifies Bitcoin moves in both directions.

What to Watch

Two things will clarify whether this ETH recovery has legs:

Ratio confirmation. A weekly close above 0.035 would be the first meaningful technical signal that the trend has shifted. Anything below that keeps the broader downtrend intact.

ETF flow consistency. A single strong week of Ethereum ETF inflows is interesting. Three or four consecutive strong weeks would be significant. Watch whether institutional flows into ETH products sustain into late April.

The stablecoin ATH and new user growth are genuine positives. But Ethereum has had false dawns before in this cycle. The ratio bounce is worth monitoring, not celebrating yet.