Markus Thielen, head of research at 10x Research, voiced doubts about Ethereum’s prospects for notable growth in 2025 in a recent market analysis. According to Thielen, Ether might not be the best option for a bull run and could perform worse than Bitcoin.
The Medium-Term Investment Prospects of Ethereum
The activity levels of these validators will be one of the most important variables to track in 2025. Ethereum’s staking mechanism may not have enough external demand to maintain growth, Thielen stressed, making it difficult for major rises in prices to occur.
Not every expert agrees with Thielen’s pessimistic assessment. Attestant’s chief business officer, Tim Lowe, contended that a more cohesive value proposition and more successful marketing might boost Ethereum’s demand. He proposed diversifying away from Bitcoin as a straightforward yet powerful approach to spur Ethereum’s expansion.
Notwithstanding these divergent opinions, Ethereum’s 2024 performance in comparison to Bitcoin presents a difficult picture. According to CoinMarketCap, Ether saw a relatively low return of 46.3% since the year began, while Bitcoin saw a 121.4% increase.
Thielen referred to Ethereum as a “poor” medium-term investment, citing its historically poor performance relative to Bitcoin. He highlighted the network’s declining validator growth rate, which dropped by around 1% over the past month. This tendency calls into doubt the legitimacy of the validator ecosystem since more members may leave the network.
Performance of ETFs and Pressures from Competition
The differences in exchange-traded fund (ETF) inflows between Ethereum and Bitcoin highlight Ether’s difficulties even more. In 2024, U.S. Bitcoin ETFs saw $35.3 billion in inflows, compared to $2.66 billion for Ether ETFs. The pessimistic attitude around Ethereum was exacerbated by the poor reaction of the ETF offers.
Ethereum’s technological advancements were also cited by Thielen as a lost chance. The March 2024 Duncan update, which enhanced transaction processing and lowered gas prices, was too late to take advantage of the memecoin surge. Ethereum’s position was further compromised by the market’s move toward Solana as a more affordable option.
There has also been doubt over the impending Pectra upgrade, which is planned for early 2025. Only two of Ethereum’s 19 upgrades as of yet, Thielen pointed out, have significantly raised the price, and even those happened during larger Bitcoin bull markets. He questioned Pectra’s capacity to change Ethereum’s present course.
Cryptocurrency dealers have differing opinions about how Ethereum’s price might change in 2025. The asset’s recent rangebound nature was emphasized by some, such as Cold Blooded Schiller, who said that either a breakout or a drop to retest the $3,000 level was possible. Another trader, Dal, also put up possibilities that included either a rise to $4,000 or a decline to $3,102.
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