Cryptonews Features

‘Ethereum Has Long-Term Potential’: Why Experts Believe in ETH Price Recovery

Ethereum Layer 1

Can Ethereum restore its reputation and find a path back to $5,000?

Features writer

Olga Primakova

Features writer

Olga Primakova

About Author

Olga started writing about cryptocurrency and finance in 2021.

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Last updated:

April 3, 2025

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Key Takeaways

Ethereum fell by nearly 32% in February and 19% in March, making early 2025 one of its worst-performing periods.
Institutional support remains strong, with Ethereum still seen as the foundation for tokenization and long-term crypto infrastructure.
Rising competition from Aptos and Sui is challenging Ethereum’s position as the dominant Layer 1 network.

Ethereum (ETH) has been on a downward trend since the start of 2025, with February marking its worst month on record. Is there still hope for recovery?

According to CoinGlass, the price of Ethereum price dropped by nearly 19% in March. The decline has continued since January. In February, ETH fell by almost 32%, making it the worst February in the coin’s history.

Historically, February and March are considered strong months for Ethereum price, with it typically rising. But in 2025, that trend reversed.

Ethereum hasn’t faced the same reputational issues as Solana (SOL), but investors are growing frustrated with its continued decline. The coin’s last all-time high was on Nov. 10, 2021, when it reached $4,878.

The ongoing slump has raised concerns in the crypto community that Ethereum may be heading in the wrong direction. Some have even suggested that Vitalik Buterin should step aside to give the project new momentum. Tim Delhaes, CEO and founder of Grindery, shared his view with Cryptonews:

Personally, I remain confident in Ethereum’s long-term potential. However, in the short term, the platform is facing considerable uncertainty and negative sentiment, which is always a cause for concern.

‘Ethereum Is Going Through a Bit of an Identity Crisis’

Ethereum continues to roll out regular updates. One of the most anticipated was the Dencun upgrade, launched in March 2024. Its main goal was to reduce network fees, long considered Ethereum’s biggest weakness.

While the update succeeded in lowering transaction costs, it also produced an unintended consequence. Eneko Knörr, CEO and co-founder of Stabolut, explained the paradox in a comment to Cryptonews:

Ethereum is going through a bit of an identity crisis that runs deeper than just its recent price dip. The Dencun upgrade, which was meant to boost scalability and lower transaction costs, has unintentionally made scaling Ethereum’s biggest enemy. In trying to make the network faster and more affordable, it’s also reduced the fees that flow through the system—fees that are a key way investors assess the network’s value. So while the user experience improves, the revenue side takes a hit, and that’s reflected in ETH’s price.

Data from TokenTerminal supports this observation. Over the past 30 days, Ethereum’s revenue has dropped by 76.6%, while fees have fallen by 60.4%.

Knörr also pointed to growing concerns around the economic structure of Ethereum, particularly the role of Layer 2 (L2) networks:

What’s more concerning is a growing sense of economic misalignment. Ethereum risks becoming the infrastructure layer powering a booming ecosystem—while capturing very little of the value created on top of it. Layer 2s like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Base are now earning more in fees than Ethereum itself, but almost none of that gets funneled back to support the base layer. It’s a bit like building the roads but watching all the toll money go elsewhere.

Base and Arbitrum (ARB) are also gaining ground among decentralized exchanges (DEXs). According to DeFiLlama, both ranked in the top 5 DEX blockchains, in fourth and fifth place, respectively.

It is worth noting, however, that Ethereum still holds the top position in this ranking—a spot that previously often went to Solana, thanks to the popularity of its meme coins.

What Could Affect Ethereum’s Price Rise?

One of the key questions is whether Ethereum price will rise—and when. While many investors remain confident in its long-term future, short-term uncertainty continues to cloud the outlook.

Eneko Knörr told Cryptonews that Ethereum price recent decline is also tied to rising competition among Layer 1 (L1) blockchains:

Ethereum’s recent price drop isn’t just about market cycles or short-term sentiment—it’s a reflection of deeper shifts happening across the ecosystem. On one side, there’s rising competition: blockchains like Solana are making a strong comeback, and newer platforms like Aptos and Sui are gaining traction. They’re starting to challenge Ethereum’s role as the go-to Layer 1 for developers and users alike.

At the same time, Ethereum remains one of the most attractive crypto assets for institutional investors. Despite ongoing debates around the project’s development, the network has shown resilience. Tim Delhaes adds that Ethereum’s inclusion in the U.S. reserve—reportedly tied to Donald Trump—could play a role in price recovery:

If the Federal Reserve ultimately recognizes Bitcoin and Ethereum as reserve assets, it could serve as a positive catalyst—but even with that, the current outlook remains relatively bleak.

Knörr agrees that Ethereum’s reputation continues to support its position among institutions, even with increased competition and technical challenges:

Even though ETH’s performance hasn’t kept up with Bitcoin lately, institutions keep choosing Ethereum thanks to its unmatched decentralization, rock-solid security, and deep developer ecosystem. When it comes to building the future of tokenization—a market that could reach trillions—they trust Ethereum to be the foundation. Newer chains might be faster or cheaper, but institutions still place more value on Ethereum’s reliability and proven track record.