After the recent bull market correction, the price of ETH has once again stabilized above $3900. Looking back at the development of Ethereum over the past year, it contains many complex factors and emotions. On one hand, the Cancun upgrade was successfully completed, and the spot ETF was officially approved, showcasing a brand new face of the bull market from both technical and fundamental perspectives; however, on the other hand, as Bitcoin, SOL, and BNB continuously set new historical highs, the price of ETH still hovers around the $4000 mark.

From the price chart of ETH this year shown above, it can be seen that Ethereum has experienced three main phases this year, each corresponding to different reasons for the price increases. At the beginning of the year, the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF led to a surge in Ethereum's price, which briefly broke through $4100, but by the end of March, it began to decline alongside the overall market trend. Additionally, due to the strong surge of SOL and its ecosystem, Ethereum's ecosystem faced significant outflow of liquidity.

In May, after the approval of the Ethereum spot ETF, the price briefly surged, but its demand was not as strong as that of Bitcoin. The initial market reaction to the launch of the Ethereum ETF was negative, as speculative investors who bought Grayscale Ethereum Trust and expected its conversion to ETF took profits, leading to a $1 billion outflow of funds, which applied downward pressure on Ethereum's price. Furthermore, the narrative of ETH leaning towards tech innovation products was more difficult to impress the traditional market compared to BTC's 'digital gold', and the SEC's restrictions on the Ethereum spot ETF's involvement in staking functions objectively weakened its attractiveness.

After this, the Ethereum Foundation, re-staking ecosystem, and roadmap disputes followed, plunging Ethereum into a dark period.

In November, after the U.S. elections were settled, the pro-crypto Republican Party and Trump injected stronger confidence and liquidity into the entire crypto ecosystem, which led to Ethereum experiencing its third wave of price increase this year.

This time, the increase is different from the past; institutional investors have clearly entered the market, and the liquidity fundamentals have improved. This indicates to us that the market is using funds to tell us what institutions recognize and are optimistic about; moreover, Ethereum is destined to continue its original intention of being the 'world computer'.