Ether rose approximately 70% during the third quarter, outperforming Bitcoin’s roughly 42% advance, but centralized-exchange order books became less able to absorb large trades near the market price.
A CoinGecko study of eight exchanges found median Ether depth of approximately $13 million to $14 million within a 0.15% range around the market. That equaled about 35% to 45% of comparable Bitcoin liquidity, down from at least 60% in 2025.
Seven of the eight exchanges maintained more than $1 million on each side of the Ether market in the narrow range, so ordinary retail execution remained supported. The decline is more relevant to institutions, leveraged positions and periods when several large orders reach the market together.
The same study found Solana liquidity had fallen more than 28.5% from 2025, from about $28 million on each side of the order book to roughly $20 million. XRP depth remained near $30 million across the measured range.
The report covers selected centralized exchanges and does not capture decentralized exchanges, bilateral OTC liquidity or every venue.
TOKEN RECON ASSESSMENT
Price performance and market resilience diverged during Ether’s third-quarter rally. Thinner visible depth increases slippage and can amplify liquidations when positioning becomes crowded.
Sources
CoinGecko:https://www.coingecko.com/research/publications/crypto-liquidity-report-2026
