Ethereum is not an alt to Bitcoin. Ethereum is Web 3.0, the backend of a peer-to-peer, decentralised Web, that may one day replace the current Web 1.0.
The tokens are ETH (Ether), which could also be used as an alternative payment system like BTC, however they arent really. (If the Ether tokens are used the same way as BTC tokens, then they could be regarded as an altcoin. It seems that some organizations are accepting ETH deposits as payment/altcoin because the Bitcoin network is congested. This trend might continue if Bitcoin scalability is still not resolved.)
Moreover, Dash wants to be the digital cash for the mainstream consumer market who are already familiar with online banking.
The prices seem very volatile, but keep in mind that Ethereum has long-term fundamentals; its price could go down a lot, but it will recover because of its long-term fundamentals.