Big things are brewing in the Ethereum ecosystem.
Developers are getting ready to roll out Fusaka, a major hard fork expected in Q3/Q4 2025 — right after the Pectra upgrade this May.
This could be a huge turning point for Ethereum’s future... and for price ETH action too. Let's break it down:
What Is the Fusaka Hard Fork?
Fusaka is all about fixing Ethereum’s biggest pain points: scalability and efficiency.
Originally, it was going to bring three big changes:
PeerDAS (Peer Data Sampling): A new way for Ethereum nodes to verify data without downloading everything. This could massively boost blob capacity — from 6 blobs per block to 48–72 blobs!
EVM Object Format (EOF): A plan to upgrade Ethereum’s smart contracts for better security and easier upgrades.
Gas Limit Increase: Raising Ethereum’s gas limit from 30 million to 150 million, potentially boosting transaction capacity by 400%.
But — there's been a twist.
In late April, Ethereum devs decided to remove EOF from Fusaka. Too many risks, not enough time to get it perfect. Now, PeerDAS is the real star of the show.
Why PeerDAS Matters?
PeerDAS could seriously level up Ethereum by: Making rollups (like Arbitrum and Optimism) faster and cheaper. Pushing Ethereum closer to its dream of stateless clients. Cutting validator hardware needs by up to 75%
Testing is still ongoing, though — bugs and syncing issues are popping up in devnets. And pulling off PeerDAS across all Ethereum clients (like Geth, Nethermind, and Besu) by Q3/Q4 is going to be a tough race.
The Gas Limit Battle
Another hot debate: should Ethereum raise its gas limit? Proponents say bigger blocks = cheaper Layer 1 transactions and better app performance. Critics worry about centralization (only the biggest players could run full nodes) and network security risks (remember 2016’s DDoS attacks?). No final decision yet. There’s talk about starting small — raising to 60 million gas first — then monitoring the network health.
Meanwhile... Everyone Hates $ETH ?
The market is super bearish on Ethereum right now.
Whales are selling: Holdings by wallets with ≥10K ETH dropped 14% from Jan–Apr 2025.
Institutions are rotating out: Galaxy Digital and others have dumped ETH and are scooping up Solana.
Derivatives look bad: ETH futures open interest is at 18-month lows, and funding rates flipped negative in April.
Compared to Bitcoin and Solana, $ETH has been a laggard this year.
SOL is up 210% YTD. BTC is up 45%.
ETH? Only +12%.
The Setup for a "Most Hated Rally"
But here’s the crazy part: Some analysts think this extreme negativity could actually fuel a massive short squeeze.
Here’s why: ETH has been stuck between $2,400–$3,200 for almost a year — just like Bitcoin’s boring phase before its 2020 breakout.
Chart watchers see a Wave 5 forming, possibly sending ETH to $6,800–8,400. Sentiment is so bad it’s good: ETH’s Fear & Greed Index recently hit 12/100 — levels last seen before a 900% rally back in late 2020.
Plus, there’s currently $4.2 billion in ETH shorts. If ETHEREUM ks above $3,500, shorts could get liquidated fast — fueling an even bigger rally.
What Could Make It Happen?
A few things could light the fire:
Fusaka Success: If PeerDAS works and fees drop by 60–70%, Layer 2s could become way cheaper.
Better Staking Yields: With Fusaka and Pectra upgrades, staking rewards could rise above 6% — drawing fresh institutional interest.
Regulatory Wins: U.S. regulators are warming up to "sufficiently decentralized" blockchains like Ethereum for ETFs. (BlackRock’s ETH ETF already has $2.1B in pre-launch commitments!
At the same time, macro factors are turning bullish:
Fed is likely to cut rates by September 2025 — good for risk assets like crypto.
Stablecoin regulations are progressing, which could boost Ethereum’s DeFi activity.
Final Thoughts: Ethereum's Make-or-Break Moment
The Fusaka upgrade could be the biggest shift for Ethereum since the Merge.
If it delivers — faster rollups, lower fees, better scalability — Ethereum could silence the critics and surge back into the spotlight. If it flops — delays, bugs, or network instability — it could hand even more momentum to rivals like Solana and Avalanche.
Right now, the market hates ETH. But sometimes... that's exactly when the biggest rallies start.
