ETH/BTC ratio breaks 0.02858 resistance as Tom Lee flags crypto revival

Ether climbed to 0.02858 BTC on July 13, breaking above a resistance level that had held since June, CoinGecko data show.

The breakout signals a turning point for crypto markets, Tom Lee, chairman at Bitmine, said.

"There are reasons for ETH/BTC price ratio to rise in the second half of 2026, in short, ETH is money narrative likely gains traction," Lee said in a post on X. He ties the move to growth in stablecoins, tokenization and new Ethereum-based projects, as well as falling oil prices and progress on the CLARITY Act. Spot Ethereum ETFs captured more than $128 million in net inflows through July, outperforming their Bitcoin counterparts over the same period, according to data cited by Blockonomi. Bitmine has been accumulating ether through what Lee described as an intensive campaign, though he recently suggested that phase is nearing its end.

The ETH/BTC ratio is widely tracked as a proxy for risk appetite across the broader altcoin market. A sustained climb would suggest capital is rotating out of Bitcoin into higher-beta tokens, a pattern that has historically accompanied broader alt-season rallies. Whether the breakout holds through the second half of 2026 will determine if Lee's revival call was early or premature.

On-Chain Activity Adds Weight

Robinhood's newly launched Layer 2 blockchain uses ETH for transaction fees and settles final transactions on Ethereum mainnet. Bridged ETH volume to Robinhood's network surged roughly tenfold within a week, crossing $100 million, Token Terminal data cited by Blockonomi show. Lee called it a breakthrough application that has already processed transaction volumes exceeding numerous established decentralized trading platforms. As network activity expands, corresponding ETH demand scales proportionally, creating a tangible use case beyond speculative positioning.

The Bear Case Remains

The ETH/BTC ratio touched 0.15 only briefly at its 2017 peak and has stayed below that level since. Lee's $250,000 ether target would push the ratio above 25 times that 2017 high, based on current Bitcoin prices. The pair still sits 7.72% lower over the past three months, even after this week's bounce. Spot ether funds posted a seven-week outflow streak that ended in late June, a trend that has only partly reversed. Bitcoin's dominance has simultaneously increased, adding 1.5 percentage points in July and approaching the 60% resistance threshold, suggesting some capital continues favoring Bitcoin over altcoins. Ethereum's Q3 2025 rally against Bitcoin saw a 53% surge before market participants gave back roughly half those gains, a pattern investors will be watching for a repeat.

For now, the breakout offers the clearest signal yet that the second half of 2026 could see Ethereum reclaim its role as the primary vehicle for crypto risk-taking. The durability of that shift will depend on whether on-chain demand — from Layer 2 activity, institutional flows and tokenization — can sustain what price momentum has started.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.