Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, keeps losing more ground against crypto king Bitcoin. 

Earlier today, the ETH/BTC ratio plunged below the 0.04 BTC level for the first time in three and a half years. 

From "flippening" to "halvening"

Ether, Bitcoin's archrival, has long been viewed as the main contender to replace the original cryptocurrency and become the biggest cryptocurrency by market value. 

Such a hypothetical scenario was on the cusp of becoming a reality during the peak of the initial coin offering (ICO) craze that happened in mid-2017. In June 2017, Ether came extremely close to overtaking Bitcoin and becoming the most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

Ether came close to Bitcoin's throne in early 2018 and then experienced yet another revival in 2021 due to the enthusiasm surrounding decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs). However, it never managed to at least briefly occupy the first spot by market capitalization, with Bitcoin's reign remaining uninterrupted. 

Now, it seems like the long-predicted changing of the guard is not going to take place anytime soon. 

As noted by Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, the ETH/BTC pair is now down a whopping 53% since The Merge. The monumental upgrade, which took place back in September 2022, marked Ethereum's much-awaited transition from proof-of-work (PoW) to proof-of-stake (PoS). 

Earlier this year, Ether experienced yet another setback, with spot ETFs flopping due to substantial outflows. 

As reported by U.Today, Bitcoin maximalist Tuur Demeester recently predicted that the price of Ether could crash all the way to 0.03 BTC.