Ethereum’s Identity Crisis: Is It Still the King of Smart Contracts?
Coin Bureau’s Guy breaks down Ethereum’s struggles this cycle and the growing fear that ETH may be losing its long-held edge. While ETH still leads in dev activity and TVL, competition is heating up fast — and the market is starting to notice.
1. 🔻 ETH vs BTC – Losing Ground
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Ethereum has yet to reclaim its 2021 all-time high of ~$4,900
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ETH/BTC pair has been bleeding since September 2022 with no major reversal
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BTC continues to dominate the narrative, momentum, and ETF inflows
2. 🧩 Layer 2s – Scaling or Sabotage?
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Ethereum’s pivot to a modular, L2-first design is causing fragmentation
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Too many L2s = complex UX, scattered liquidity, and reduced demand for ETH itself
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VCs are pouring into L2 infrastructure, not ETH — "picks and shovels" mentality
3. ⚔️ Ethereum Killers Are Gaining
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Solana, Aptos, Avalanche, and others are offering faster, cheaper alternatives
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Some have already flipped ETH in key metrics like daily active users and TPS
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Solana even onboarded more devs than Ethereum in 2024
4. 📉 Institutional Demand – Where Is It?
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ETH staking yields (~3%) are lower than US Treasuries (~4.3%)
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ETH ETFs underwhelmed due to lack of staking options and poor yield
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Validator setup is still too complex for mainstream institutions
5. 🌱 Why There’s Still Hope
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New SEC leadership is warming up to crypto, increasing chances of a staked ETH ETF
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Launch of Etherealize aims to push Ethereum-based real world asset tokenization
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Upcoming Pectra upgrade (target: April 25) will improve staking and wallet UX
🧠 Final Take: ETH may look weak in this cycle, but the foundations remain strong. If staking ETFs get approved and Layer 2 adoption continues to rise, Ethereum could stage a surprising comeback. Just don’t expect it overnight.
