The Ethereum token (ETH) could surge by more than 80% against Bitcoin (BTC) in 2026, in line with a classic bull trend reversal scenario unfolding on its long-term charts.

Key Points:

The ether price chart shows an boost of 80% compared to Bitcoin

As of December, the two-week ETH/BTC chart was showing a textbook inverse head and shoulders (IH&S) pattern, a classic bullish reversal pattern that typically follows long-term downtrends.

The left arm of the pattern formed during a weakening in overdue 2024, followed by an aggressive capitulation in April 2025 that made a header around 0.0176 BTC. This subsequent recovery established a higher low in Q4 2025, forming a right shoulder.

The neckline was around 0.0400 BTC, positioned between the 50-period (red) and 200-period (blue) exponential moving average (EMA).

Related: Ethereum grows to 3.3 thousand dollars, proving that the bottom has already been hit: will a 100% ETH rally be next?

A decisive break above this zone will likely confirm the IH&S pattern, paving the way for a material move towards 0.063 BTC in 2026.

This upside target is up 80% from ETH/BTC rates recorded on Thursday.

Can ETH Copy Its 450% Parabolic Move From 2020?

The current ETH/BTC rebound closely mirrors the breakout that occurred after the accumulation phase in 2019-2020.

The pair surged almost 450% after hitting a low in the same demand zone of 0.0160-0.0200 BTC.

Ether’s 2025 recovery started from this identical structural low, and the price is currently pushing into the same early-stage resistance cluster (depicted by the red circles on the chart above) that preceded the 2020 parabolic expansion.

ETH/BTC could climb towards the Fibonacci zone at 0.059 BTC, a level consistent with the IH&S breakout trajectory heading into 2026, if this fractal continues to repeat.

Ethereum is still in a downtrend against Bitcoin

However, ETH bulls will have to prove that the long-term downtrend has actually ended.

Ether remains capped by a multi-year bearish trendline that has rejected every attempt to break Bitcoin since 2017.

A up-to-date breakdown of this barrier would weaken IH&S and fractal setups and boost the risk of a pullback towards the long-term 0.0175 BTC support in 2026.

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