2025 is destined to be another thrilling year of volatility for Ethereum.

Looking back over the past decade, the price curve of this chain is more thrilling than any roller coaster.

Early underestimation and the first frenzy (2015-2017) 🚀

In 2015, when Ethereum was first launched, it did not receive widespread attention. At that time, it was generally believed that Bitcoin, with slight modifications and especially the addition of sidechain technology, could carry all blockchain innovations, making it seem unnecessary to start anew.

What really ignited the market was the ICO wave of 2016-2017 💥.

ICO was not only one of the most influential inventions in the crypto world but also directly ignited the price of ETH—from below $100, it surged to over $1,400 in two years. However, the bubble burst quickly, and by the end of 2018, the price was back below $100.

The golden three years of DeFi (2020-2021) 💎

In 2020, the DeFi wave swept through the market, with innovations like liquidity mining, lending protocols, and decentralized exchanges emerging one after another, igniting a new round of super bull market. The price surged from a few hundred dollars to a historical high of $4,815.

The period from 2020 to 2022 was the most intensive time for Ethereum innovation: DeFi, NFTs, Rollups, and ZK maturing successively, gas fees soared, but also spawned a large number of unexpected airdrop gains 🪂.

Epic crash (2022) 💥

In 2022, the collapses of Luna, 3AC, FTX, etc., triggered a leverage chain reaction within the ETH ecosystem, causing prices to drop from $4,000 to $880. The number of people, institutions, and scale of funds involved in this downturn is an extreme case in the history of human crypto.

ETF craze and the gap (2023-2024) 📉

In 2023, Wall Street promoted ETFs, restoring market confidence.

In 2024, the spot ETH ETF was launched, with prices skyrocketing from just over $1,500 to a peak of $4,100. After the craze subsided, the price fell back to $2,000, and the ETH/BTC exchange rate performed poorly, making 'E Guardian' a laughingstock in the industry.

Policy shock and bottom testing (first half of 2025) ⚠️

In 2025, Trump launched a global tariff war, driving the ETH price down to $1,300—returning to the level of 2017, eight years ago. Panic swept through the market.

Policy benefits and V-shaped recovery (second half of 2025) 📈

The U.S. stablecoin bill (GENIUS Act) takes effect, and the Federal Reserve signals interest rate cuts, driving a strong rebound in ETH. On August 14, 2025, prices briefly approached historical highs, reaching $4,700, just a step away from $4,800.

Innovation-driven vs Policy-driven ⚖️

🔹 Innovation-driven: Breakthroughs in technologies like ICO, DeFi, NFT, Rollup, and ZK often bring frenzy and bubbles, inevitably followed by crashes, very similar to the early internet and the wave of mobile internet entrepreneurship in China.

🔹 Policy-driven: Consistent and predictable policies can attract institutions with stronger financial capabilities, bringing relatively stable prices, but the greed of capital cannot be ignored—behind the high-profile financing of the 'coin + stock' concept, who knows if there are any insider dealings 🐀.

Whether driven by innovation or policy, the crypto world will never be peaceful.

The story of Ethereum is far from over.

ETH price milestones 🗓️

  • 2015-08-01 | Early days of mainnet launch | $1.36

  • 2016-06-17 | The DAO hack | $~18

  • 2017-06-12 | ICO craze surpasses $400 | $401.49

  • 2018-12-15 | Bear market bottom | $84.44

  • 2020-06-15 | DeFi Summer starts | $244.56

  • 2021-11-10 | Historical high | $4,865

  • 2022-06-18 | 3AC crisis | $1,086.82

  • 2024-05-23 | Spot ETH ETF rules approved | $3,776.93

  • 2025-04-02 | Trump’s reciprocal tariffs | $1,795.31

  • 2025-07-18 | U.S. stablecoin bill takes effect | $3,549.56