As the second-largest blockchain network by market capitalization, Ethereum's performance in 2024 seems somewhat 'lackluster'. While Bitcoin has surged by 141% so far this year and Solana has risen by 104%, Ethereum has only managed a 66% increase, failing to stir larger market waves. However, beneath the surface calm, there may be a brewing transformation of a 'king's return'. With key technological upgrades, surging institutional interest, and the rapid expansion of the tokenized asset market, 2025 may become a crucial turning point for Ethereum to achieve a leap in value.
Technical optimizations solidify the foundation, institutional preferences highlight potential
Ethereum's development team continues to work on addressing early network issues, such as slow transaction speeds and high fees. With support from layer two protocols (like Base, Optimism, and Arbitrum), Ethereum's network performance has significantly improved. Transactions have become faster, and costs have dramatically decreased, providing great convenience for developers building projects within the ecosystem.
Bitwise CEO Matt Hougan stated that Ethereum's accessibility and scalability advantages will allow it to surpass Solana in the future, becoming the preferred choice for institutional investors. He pointed out that Ethereum not only has a more robust infrastructure but has also solidified its core position in the digital asset market with lower transaction costs.
AUM net inflow surges
According to data from Bitwise Asset Management, the spot ETH ETF recorded a net inflow of 2 billion dollars in the past 10 days, far exceeding the total inflow of only 250 million dollars in the previous four months. This change clearly indicates that investor interest in Ethereum is rapidly heating up.
Senior Investment Strategist Juan Leon believes that the resurgence of this capital inflow is closely tied to Ethereum's core position in the rapidly growing tokenized real-world assets (RWA) market. Data shows that Ethereum currently holds 81% of the tokenized market share and is the primary platform for RWA.
Catalysts for Ethereum's growth
Tokenized assets, especially the digitization of real-world assets, are key drivers of Ethereum's future growth. Financial giants like BlackRock and UBS have already begun transferring assets to the Ethereum platform. For example, BlackRock is operating a tokenized government bond fund worth 578 million dollars.
Leon noted that the global RWA market size is expected to reach 100 trillion dollars. While fully tokenizing these assets will take time, the annual fees generated could exceed 100 billion dollars, far surpassing Ethereum's total fee revenue in 2024 (2.4 billion dollars).
He further predicts that with the accelerated growth of the market in 2025, Ethereum will play a core role in the RWA tokenization process. More importantly, the new crypto-friendly regulatory environment may provide significant support for this expansion.
Frequent activity from whale addresses seems to provide new clues for Ethereum's price trends. Data shows that a whale associated with Longling Capital recently bought 6,000 ETH during a price dip, bringing their total holdings to 75,400 ETH, with past trades profiting nearly 172 million dollars.
Currently, Ethereum's price remains at a key support level of 3,650 dollars. If the bulls can sustain the recent momentum, ETH is expected to rally towards 5,000 dollars. This is not only a psychological threshold but could also mark the starting point of a new upswing.
Ethereum is redefining itself, with technological upgrades, expansion of the tokenized asset market, and the return of institutional funds making its future full of promise. If 2024 is a period of accumulation, then 2025 may very well be its year of glorious comeback. What are you waiting for? Follow the expert for daily insights, so your wallet won't 'miss out on the hotspots'!
