The case of ETH rising while BTC adjusts often occurs for the following reasons:
1. Rotation of funds
When BTC has risen sharply before and begins to stabilize or adjust, some investors will take profits from BTC and switch to altcoins, especially ETH — which has high liquidity and is considered the ‘bluechip’ of altcoins.
This phenomenon often appears during mini altcoin seasons.
2. Specific news factors for ETH
For example: news about network upgrades (Ethereum upgrade), reduction in gas fees, increase in staking rewards, approval of spot ETH ETFs, or a surge in staking data.
If ETH has positive news, it can decouple from the short-term trend of BTC.
3. Rising ETH/BTC ratio
Investors are looking at the ETH/BTC ratio rather than USD.
If the ETH/BTC ratio breaks resistance, funds from BTC may flow into ETH, causing ETH to rise even if BTC decreases slightly.
4. Differences in volatility levels
A BTC adjustment may only drop by 0.5–1%, but ETH, which has a higher beta, can rebound more quickly if buying pressure is strong.
Some trading bots and arbitrage funds also take advantage of this gap to accumulate ETH.
5. Derivative markets and funding rates
If the funding rate for ETH is low or negative (many shorts), buyers have the motivation to push the price to squeeze shorts, regardless of BTC's adjustment.
