Ethereum’s Achilles heel is institutional adoption, scalability, and sustainable DApp ecosystem growth.
Ether (ETH) last traded above $4,000 on March 14, over two months before the Ether spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on May 23. Traders are questioning whether the bullish momentum has faded and, if not, what might drive a sustained rally above $4,000.
Part of investors’ lack of enthusiasm can be attributed to the cryptocurrency market's underwhelming performance. The current sector's total capitalization is $2.42 trillion, which is 16.5% below the 2024 peak of $2.82 trillion on March 14. Contributing factors include the US Federal Reserve’s apparently successful strategy to curb inflation without causing a recession, which has reduced the appeal of alternative assets.
However, Ether appears to be facing its own issues. Its price relative to Bitcoin (BTC) has declined by 10% in two months. The $406 million net outflows from aggregate Ether spot ETFs in the US since their debut on July 23 are partly to blame, although the outflows are concentrated in Grayscale’s products.
