Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat and chairman of BitMine, believes investors should keep a close eye on the Ethereum-to-Bitcoin (ETH/BTC) ratio, saying it could provide an important clue about the health of the broader crypto market.
In a post shared on July 13 ahead of his appearance at the WebX 2026 conference in Tokyo, Lee described the ETH/BTC ratio as a potential sign of a crypto market revival. The ratio measures Ethereum’s performance relative to Bitcoin. When it rises, Ethereum is gaining strength against Bitcoin; when it falls, Bitcoin is outperforming.
Recently, the ratio recovered from an early June low near 0.026 and climbed toward 0.0286, a level many traders see as key resistance. At the time of the update, ETH/BTC was trading around 0.0282, remaining close to that important price area.
Market watchers say a break above 0.0286 could signal stronger momentum for Ethereum and potentially encourage more investment into the wider altcoin market. On the other hand, if the ratio fails to move higher, attention could shift back to support levels near 0.027 and 0.026.
Although Ethereum has shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, the bigger picture remains mixed. Over the past several months, Bitcoin has generally outperformed Ethereum, driven by strong demand for Bitcoin ETFs, weaker flows into Ethereum investment products, and growing competition from other blockchain networks.
Another factor supporting Lee’s view is the recent decline in Bitcoin’s share of the total cryptocurrency market. Lower Bitcoin dominance can sometimes indicate that investors are moving funds into Ethereum and other digital assets. At the same time, altcoin performance indicators have improved, though they still remain below levels typically associated with a full altcoin season.
Institutional demand is also drawing attention. U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs recently returned to positive inflows after weeks of outflows, while Ethereum staking continues to grow, reducing the amount of ETH available for sale on the open market.
Meanwhile, BitMine has expanded its Ethereum holdings, reporting a treasury of 5.74 million ETH, representing roughly 4.8% of Ethereum’s total supply.
Lee has long argued that Ethereum could benefit from the growth of stablecoins, tokenized assets, and clearer cryptocurrency regulations in the United States. However, for now, many analysts believe Ethereum must continue strengthening against Bitcoin and successfully break through key resistance levels before a broader crypto market recovery can be confirmed.
