$ETH

Ethereum has seemed stagnated at times, especially in terms of price or mainstream traction, for a few key reasons:

Scalability Bottlenecks: Until recently, Ethereum suffered from high gas fees and network congestion. This made it impractical for many use cases, especially during peak periods (e.g., during NFT booms or DeFi surges).

Transition to Ethereum 2.0: The shift from Proof of Work to Proof of Stake was a massive technical overhaul. During this multi-year process, uncertainty and delays kept some developers and investors cautious, slowing momentum.

Regulatory Uncertainty: Governments have been unclear about how they will treat Ethereum, especially regarding staking, DeFi, and whether ETH is considered a security. This creates hesitation among institutional investors.

Competition from Other Blockchains: Blockchains like Solana, Avalanche, and Binance Smart Chain offered faster and cheaper transactions, drawing developers and users away during Ethereum’s high-fee periods.

Bear Market Cycles: Like all crypto assets, Ethereum is influenced by broader market cycles. After the 2021 bull run, the entire market entered a downturn, dragging ETH with it regardless of its fundamentals.

Lack of “killer apps”: While DeFi and NFTs are major use cases, Ethereum has yet to birth a truly mainstream app that brings millions of new users onboard consistently.

Despite all this, Ethereum has remained the most used and developed smart contract platform. Its long-term value lies in infrastructure rather than hype.