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Ethereum (ETH) Depth Fell to 35% of Bitcoin's in Q3, CoinGecko Data Shows

Ethereum's Q3 market depth fell to 35-45% of bitcoin's, CoinGecko data shows, even as ETH gained 70% and now trades near $2,709 with support at $2,684.

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October 5, 2026, 04:11 AM UTC6 min readUpdated
AI SummaryAI
  • Ethereum (ETH) market depth reached 35-45% of bitcoin's between July 6 and Sept. 30
  • Ether gained 70% in Q3 while bitcoin added 42%
  • ETH held $13-14 million in depth within 0.15% of price
  • SOL depth within 2% fell from $28 million to $20 million per side year over year
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Ether Depth Versus Bitcoin Shrinks in Q3

Ethereum (ETH) carried 35% to 45% of bitcoin's median daily market depth between July 6 and Sept. 30, down from at least 60% across the same stretch last year. The figures appear in CoinGecko's quarterly liquidity review, published early on Monday, which called the drop against last year's readings a stark one. Price performance ran the other way through the quarter: ether gained about 70% while bitcoin added 42%. The Ethereum price now sits near $2,709 as of Monday, up 0.6% over the past 24 hours, after that study window closed; our earlier note on Ethereum holding near $2,700 frames the current range. Liquidity describes how easily a token changes hands without moving its price, and market depth is the standard yardstick for it: the dollar value of buy and sell orders parked on exchanges within a fixed distance of the current price. A deep book soaks up large tickets; a thin one lets a single order push the quote. Inside 0.15% of the mid price, ether held $13 million to $14 million in depth during the window, the band where routine fills clear and where market makers place most of their size. Depth that close to the price matters most for everyday trades and for large orders meant to fill without disturbing the market. A year ago the same comparison gave ether at least 60% of bitcoin's standing depth; the current band means a similarly sized order now clears against a thinner wall of resting bids and asks. The thinning arrived inside a broad bull market, not during a drawdown, and it puts Ethereum's order books on a different footing relative to bitcoin's market than a year ago.

The data cuts against a familiar market assumption, that higher prices pull in traders and traders thicken the books; across the quarter, ether's price ran ahead while its depth thinned. Ether still counts as fairly liquid at the range the review measured: most exchanges kept more than $1 million in depth on each side within 0.15% of the market price. Ether's closest large-cap rival lost depth as well, though the measurement for Solana (SOL) ran across a wider band. SOL's depth within 2% of price fell from about $28 million on each side last year to around $20 million this year. The 2% band gauges how much buying or selling a book can absorb before the price makes a bigger move, the kind that lands during a sharp rally or sell-off; ether's thinning sits right next to the mid, SOL's shows up in swing capacity. XRP kept its total depth steady near $30 million through the study period, but its book leaned toward buyers, with close to $18 million in bids against $14 million in asks. That skew sits inside a market where market cap size does not map neatly onto depth: XRP's capitalization runs about 40% above SOL's, yet XRP carries less depth within 2% of price. SOL still trades 25% more than XRP on an average day, per the same figures. For execution, the practical cost is slippage: a thin book offers less exit liquidity nearby, so a large sell order walks the price down before it fills. None of the three majors became hard to trade; the change is relative, ether against Bitcoin (BTC), and it holds across the full quarter. Whether the books refill this quarter is not something the review projects; it records the July-to-September window as measured.

$2,684 Floor, $2,748.78 Ceiling

A breakdown of the same eight-exchange sample shows the gap is partly a bitcoin story: bitcoin's books have deepened while ether's stayed flat. Bitcoin's median depth runs $29 million on the bid side and $37 million on the ask side, both measured within 0.15% of the mid price, against ether's $13 million to $14 million. CoinGecko's data ranks Binance first for either asset, with MEXC a distant outlier near $450,000. The newer readings also carry updated prices: ether at $2,725, up 1% over 24 hours, bitcoin at $86,300, up 1.4%, after a brief test of $87,000, and total market capitalization near $3.01 trillion. The practical concern is that thinner ether books amplify moves in either direction when volatility pushes large orders through.

A separate chart review of the same market adds the liquidity picture's price-side counterpart: ether trades inside an ascending channel on the 4-hour frame, rejected near the $2.78K upper boundary before recovering to roughly $2.7K. The $2.68K–$2.77K supply zone stands as the immediate obstacle, and a daily close above $2.77K, followed by a break of the recent high near $2.8K, would open the $2.9K–$3K resistance band. Liquidation-mapping data on Binance's Ethereum (ETH) pair shows a heavy estimated cluster at $2.78K–$2.8K, extending toward $2.85K, against a below-price pool at $2.61K–$2.63K with a wider band across $2.55K–$2.6K. Losing the channel midpoint near $2.67K and the $2.65K lows would expose $2.63K and $2.58K first, then the $2.44K–$2.48K demand zone.

(as of 16:20 UTC) COINOTAG's proprietary 42-indicator composite S/R engine rates the $2,805.4733 resistance at 79/100, from the confluence of R3, Fibo 0.000, the Donchian upper channel and the Keltner upper band. Nearest support at $2,663.6709 scores 90/100 via the swing low, EMA 20, S3 and Fibo 0.114; the full Ethereum technical analysis tracks the composite. Ether traded between the two at last read, near $2,684.49: roughly $21 above the floor, $121 under the ceiling, with a nearer resistance at $2,696.0750 scoring 69/100 from S1, the low-volume node, the MACD cross and the Ichimoku Tenkan. RSI reads 58.18 with a bearish MACD signal inside an uptrend. Funding holds 0.0003%, open interest $11.58 billion, and the long/short account ratio 1.43 with 58.9% of accounts long, while Fear and Greed prints 70, Greed. A close beneath $2,663.6709 would put the next shelf at $2,583.1100, scored 66/100; holding it keeps $2,805.4733 in play. The gap to the nearer edge stands at about $21: a reading taken, not a forecast offered.

Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on Bitget.

Primary sources

COINOTAG's editorial and research desk.

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AI-generated, AI-reviewed, under COINOTAG editorial oversight.