Ether's bitcoin-beating Q3 rally came with a catch. Liquidity thinned.

Ether posted a stronger price return than bitcoin in the third quarter, gaining about 70% compared with bitcoin's roughly 42% rise. Despite that outperformance, liquidity around ether narrowed significantly versus bitcoin, according to CoinGecko's report covering July 6 to Sept. 30. The study measures liquidity by market depth, the dollar value of buy and sell orders within a set distance of the current price, and found ether's median daily depth was only 35%–45% of bitcoin's in the quarter — a sharp decline from at least 60% in the same period last year.

Measured very close to the market price, ether had approximately $13 million to $14 million in depth within 0.15% of its trading price. That proximity matters for routine trades and large orders that aim to execute without moving the market; CoinGecko noted most exchanges still kept over $1 million in depth on each side within that 0.15% band. The report said the pattern contradicts the common assumption that rising prices automatically draw more participants and deepen order books.

CoinGecko also flagged thinner markets for other major tokens. Solana's SOL showed a substantial drop in overall liquidity since 2025 when measured over a wider band: depth within 2% of the market price fell from about $28 million on each side of the book last year to roughly $20 million this year. That 2% measure gauges how much buying or selling pressure a market can absorb before larger price moves occur during sharp rallies or sell-offs.

XRP's total depth remained near $30 million in the study period, but its order book was skewed toward bids, with about $18 million in buy orders versus $14 million in sells within the measured range. CoinGecko noted that XRP's market capitalization is about 40% larger than SOL's, yet XRP had less depth within 2% of the price — a difference the firm attributed in part to SOL trading about 25% more than XRP on an average day.