Ether’s Q3 Surge Outpaces Bitcoin, But Market Depth Erodes

Ether’s order book depth stood at $13 million to $14 million within 0.15% of its market price during the third quarter—a measure of how much capital sits in orders close enough to the current level that filling them would shift the asset by just 0.15%. This near-price depth is critical for routine trades and for large orders that require execution without moving the market.

The figures challenge a common market assumption: that rising prices attract more participants, which in turn deepens order books. That dynamic did not materialize for ether.

Nevertheless, ether remains reasonably liquid. “ETH remains fairly liquid at this range [within 0.15% of the market price], with most exchanges maintaining over $1 million in depth on each side,” CoinGecko noted.

The thinning is not isolated to ether. Liquidity for Solana’s SOL, ether’s primary rival, has also contracted, though CoinGecko assessed it over a broader 2% range. “The overall liquidity for SOL has shrunk considerably since 2025,” the firm reported.

SOL’s depth within 2% of the market price declined from roughly $28 million on each side of the order book last year to approximately $20 million this year. Depth at the 2% level reflects how much capital sits in orders further from the current price, serving as a gauge of the market’s capacity to absorb heavier selling or buying pressure before a larger price swing occurs—the kind seen during sharp rallies or sell-offs. While ether’s thinning appears right at the price, SOL’s manifests in reduced resilience to larger moves.

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