Ether outperformed Bitcoin on price in the third quarter of 2026, but the token became harder to trade without moving the market. A CoinGecko report cited in the article said ETH’s median daily market depth between July 6 and Sept. 30 was only 35% to 45% of BTC’s. In the same period last year, that figure was at least 60%.
The article lists ETH at $2,714.83 and BTC at $85,966.73. Over the quarter, ETH gained 70%, ahead of Bitcoin’s 42% rise. Even so, that stronger performance did not produce a thicker order book. CoinGecko described the change as a "significant decline from last year’s data."
ETH rallied, but near-price liquidity got thinner
Market depth is a standard way to measure liquidity. It refers to the total dollar value of buy and sell orders sitting within a defined range of the current market price on exchanges. A deeper book can absorb more flow before prices shift. A thinner one gets pushed around more easily by large orders.
Within 0.15% of spot price, ETH depth stood at $13 million to $14 million. In practical terms, that is the pool of orders close enough to the current price that, if fully consumed, would move ETH by about 0.15%. Depth at that distance matters most for routine execution. It also matters for larger trades that want to get filled without causing much slippage.
A common market view holds that rising prices tend to bring in more traders, and more traders usually mean thicker books. The data cited here points the other way for ETH.
That said, the article does not present Ether as illiquid. CoinGecko said, "Within this range (0.15% from spot), ETH liquidity remains fairly ample, with depth on both bid and ask sides staying above $1 million across most exchanges."
SOL liquidity has also contracted
The report says thinner liquidity is not unique to ETH. SOL, the token tied to Solana, also saw liquidity shrink, though CoinGecko measured it using a wider price band. The firm said, "Since 2025, SOL’s overall liquidity has contracted significantly."
SOL’s 2% depth fell from about $28 million per side in the order book last year to roughly $20 million this year. Depth measured 2% away from spot captures capital placed farther from the current market price, making it more useful for judging how much buying or selling pressure the market can absorb during sharper moves.
On that basis, ETH’s thinning shows up close to spot, while SOL’s shows up more in its capacity to handle larger swings.
XRP depth stayed stable, but still lagged SOL
XRP, described in the article as a payments-focused cryptocurrency, held total depth near $30 million. During the study period, its order book leaned to the bid side, with buy orders close to $18 million and sell orders around $14 million.
XRP’s market capitalization was about 40% higher than SOL’s, but its depth within 2% of spot was still below SOL’s. CoinGecko attributed that gap to SOL maintaining 25% higher average daily trading volume than XRP.
The figures in the report point to a mismatch between price strength and market absorption. A token can post a strong quarterly gain without developing a stronger order book, and that matters for position sizing and stop-loss placement when market depth is getting thinner.
