After 16 days of selling pressure, Ethereum's price has surpassed $1,700, with the selling pressure during this period stemming from macroeconomic uncertainty and a sharp decline in on-chain activity. Despite the rebound, Ethereum's performance still lags behind the overall altcoin market, with a year-to-date increase below the market average of 23%.

Some traders claim that Ethereum is poised for a 'generational' bull market by providing a 'truly decentralized' and permissionless financial system, but is that really the case?

Ethereum is one of the few major cryptocurrencies not to have set a new all-time high by 2025, unlike competitors such as Solana (SOL), Tron (TRX), and BNB.

Some critics argue that abandoning proof-of-work (PoW) mining has caused Ethereum to lose its former competitive edge against rivals.