AUS
NZ
UK
CA
USA
FRA
GER
ESP
ITA
NLD
PRT
SWE
GRC
IND
POL
BRA
ZAF
RUS
CHN
UAE
Ethereum's native cryptocurrency, {Ethereum} (ETH), has experienced a notable rebound, gaining 7.5% from its recent low of $2,396 on August 27. Despite this uptick, the cryptocurrency has seen a 22% decline over the past month, reflecting ongoing investor caution. Ether’s price remains significantly below the $3,800 levels observed in early June.
The recent decline in Ether's price can be partially attributed to a lack of enthusiasm for a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) tied to Ether in the U.S. market. This is compounded by a 13% decrease in the altcoin market capitalization over the past month, indicating underperformance relative to other cryptocurrencies. Ether was valued at $3,200 as recently as April 24.
While Ether faces price challenges, its underlying network shows positive trends. The average transaction fee on Ethereum has dropped below $1 for the first time in four years, which, along with the successful implementation of layer-2 solutions, supports Ethereum’s dominance in the decentralized applications (DApps) sector.
However, competing blockchains like Tron, BNB Chain, and Solana offer lower base-layer fees, which can be attractive to new users despite the higher centralization or operational costs on these networks. Ethereum’s layer-2 solution, Base, has demonstrated that users value direct access to services like Coinbase, emphasizing user preference for established platforms over decentralization.
The total value locked (TVL) in Ethereum’s network has been on the rise, increasing to 18.9 million ETH, a 4% gain from two weeks prior. Notably, the staking project Symbiotic saw an 83% rise in TVL, and Ether.fi’s liquid staking protocol experienced a 15% increase. Despite this, TVL alone does not fully capture Ethereum’s network activity, as many DApps do not require substantial deposits.
Ethereum's DApp activity has also grown, with volumes rising by 36% between July 22 and July 29. Uniswap and Balancer saw significant increases in trading volumes. However, there has been a decline in the number of active addresses and total transactions, with active addresses remaining flat and transactions down by 8% since August 22.
Additionally, the lack of interest from institutional investors is reflected in the net outflows of $107 million from spot Ether ETF funds over the past two weeks, contrasting sharply with the $523 million in net inflows for Bitcoin spot ETFs during the same period.
