Ethereum is gaining 1.95% today, reaching $2,850, partially reducing its earlier lead over Bitcoin from the first part of the day. The past few months have been among the worst in Ethereum's history in terms of market sentiment. While Bitcoin has been setting new highs and remains relatively close to its all-time high (ATH), Ethereum is nearly 40% below its historical peaks from the previous bull run. In contrast, Bitcoin is currently over 43% above its last cycle high.
Ethereum's weakness is primarily driven by growth stagnation, caused by the lack of a clear business strategy and slow network development on the developer side. Another factor contributing to Ethereum's struggles is the rise of Layer 2 (L2) projects such as Polygon and Arbitrum. These were initially seen as Ethereum’s saviors, solving scalability issues by reducing transaction costs and increasing processing speed. However, over time, it became clear that the success of L2 projects significantly reduced traffic on Ethereum’s main network. Additionally, the Ethereum Foundation has been periodically selling large amounts of ETH, which negatively impacts market sentiment.
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Create account Try a demo Download mobile app Download mobile appDespite these challenges, several positive developments are on the horizon:
- Ethereum is preparing for its next network upgrade, Pectra, which is expected to go live on the mainnet in March. This update aims to improve Ethereum’s scalability and efficiency.
- There are speculations that the Ethereum Foundation is working on a new marketing strategy and considering staking ETH instead of selling it to fund development.
- Institutions and high-profile projects continue to choose Ethereum for settlements, despite criticism of its scalability. High transaction volumes and total value locked (TVL) still favor Ethereum over other blockchains.
- BlackRock plans to tokenize real-world assets (RWA) on Ethereum, signaling further institutional adoption.
- More attractive integration models with L2 projects are being considered to enhance Ethereum’s value.
Despite temporary setbacks, Ethereum's position remains strong. Investor sentiment is currently at a record low. However, institutional investors—including those linked to Donald Trump's administration and World Liberty Financial—hold significant amounts of Ethereum. This suggests that as clearer regulations emerge and blockchain integration with traditional finance advances, Ethereum could experience a resurgence, regaining favor with retail investors as well.
Source: xStation 5
