Since its inception in 2015, Ethereum has managed to outperform Bitcoin on just 15% of trading days, according to insights shared by analysts in the crypto space.
James Check, the lead analyst at Glassnode, highlighted this trend on social media platform X, pointing out that Ethereum has often struggled to keep up with Bitcoin through various market cycles.
While there were periods of superiority for Ethereum, especially from mid-2015 to mid-2017 and briefly from late 2019 to early 2020, these instances have become less common in the current landscape.
Bitcoin Continues to Dominate Amid Ethereum’s Challenges
Since early 2020, Bitcoin has held a firm grip on the market.
The current ETH/BTC ratio, a crucial indicator comparing Ether’s value to that of Bitcoin, has fallen to a five-year low of 0.018, a level not seen since December 2019. At that time, ETH was trading at approximately $125, while BTC was around $7,000.
Recent data from CoinGecko indicates that on April 9, the value of Ethereum dropped to around $1,400, representing a nearly 10% decline within a 24-hour period.
Bitcoin, in comparison, experienced a 6% reduction, settling at $75,000. However, it remains nearly 275% higher than its peak during the 2017 bull run, while Ethereum has fallen below its previous high achieved in 2018.
The disparity in performance has raised concerns among Ethereum advocates. “I love Ethereum. However, it’s time to face reality: Ethereum has had [around] the same number of active addresses for the past 4 years,” commented Web3 researcher Stacy Muur on X.
I love Ethereum.However, it's time to face reality:Ethereum has had ~ the same number of active addresses for the past 4 years.This isn't the "efficiency zone," I'm afraid.This is stagnation. pic.twitter.com/qg9TaeVasT
— Stacy Muur (@stacy_muur) April 8, 2025
Despite signs of stagnation on Ethereum’s mainnet, some analysts point to activity growth on layer-2 networks like Arbitrum and Optimism, which are aiding Ethereum’s scaling efforts and currently hold substantial value locked, according to L2beat data.
Additionally, Ethereum’s transaction fees have plummeted to their lowest levels since late August, averaging only $0.41 per transaction. This notable decline contrasts sharply with the peaks seen over the last two years, which were as high as $15.21, suggesting a potentially optimistic outlook for Ethereum’s pricing in the long term.
Historically, lowered transaction fees on the Ethereum network indicate reduced congestion, signifying that there are fewer competitors vying to process transactions.
Criticism Arises Over Layer-2s and Token Issuance
In a recent commentary, crypto venture capitalist Nic Carter from Castle Island Ventures identified two major factors contributing to Ethereum’s declining value: the rise of layer-2 (L2) scaling networks and the unchecked issuance of tokens.
Carter asserted that “greedy Eth L2s” are extracting value from Ethereum’s primary layer without returning much to it. He also condemned the Ethereum community’s tolerance for rampant token creation, stating that “ETH was buried in an avalanche of its own tokens. Died by its own hand.”
This critical perspective from Carter echoed sentiments shared by Quinn Thompson, founder of Lekker Capital, who labeled Ethereum as “completely dead” as an investment. Thompson pointed to decreasing transaction activity, stagnant user growth, and lower network revenues as evidence that ETH lacks a robust investment outlook, notwithstanding its operational utility as a blockchain.
The #1 cause of this is greedy eth L2s siphoning value from the L1 and the social consensus that excess token creation was A-OK. Eth was buried in an avalanche of its own tokens. Died by its own hand.
— nic carter (@nic__carter) March 28, 2025
Last September, Carter alerted stakeholders to Ethereum’s significant drop in fee revenue, which had decreased by 99% over six months due to L2s capturing user activities and revenue without benefiting Ethereum’s core structure.
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