ETH is still the leader in DeFi and smart contract applications. However, it is currently at a crossroads. The community is questioning Ethereum's relevance in the changing cryptocurrency industry and thoroughly reviewing the future of altcoins.
The mainstream narrative is painting a dark picture of Ethereum developer exodus and poor performance.
Is Ethereum falling behind?
Critics reflect that Bitcoin's ideological and political dominance, especially after former President Donald Trump's pro-cryptocurrency stance, overshadowed Ethereum's early global decentralized computer promise.
Ethereum's price decline was 44% in 2025, which decreased by 17% last year due to developer exodus and reduced network activity.
In contrast, Solana's activity increased by 83%, partly driven by meme coin adoption and fast transaction speeds.
Standard Chartered analysts lowered their year-end Ether price forecast by 60% due to Ethereum's "identity crisis" and uncertain direction.
Ethereum's co-founder Vitalik Buterin acknowledged the increasing criticism but rejected demands for quick solutions.
He emphasized again that Ethereum's path depends on "long-term value" and real-world utility, not short-term speculation or political power.
"The only thing that can move Ethereum forward now is providing long-term value. It must be clear that this value comes from something truly sustainable, like something actually useful to people." As reported by Bloomberg, Buterin said.
Ethereum Supporters: "This is a Bottom Signal"
Despite increasing criticism, Ethereum's most passionate supporters remain unshaken. They see the pessimism about the largest altcoin by market capitalization as a turning point.
"This is a bottom signal. Mainstream media almost always gets the timing wrong." A user mentioned on X.
Ethereum's Layer-2 (L2) solutions continue to dominate chain activity, and the growth of Real-World Assets (RWA) is "exponential," the user added.
Other users also renewed their optimism in response to the Bloomberg article.
"Was starting to feel bearish, but this post made me optimistic again." Another user added.
These reactions demonstrate Ethereum's strong community, which has shone in the face of adversity and innovation.
Ethereum has no political show like Bitcoin. Growth depends on scalability and real-world use.
Recently, Buterin presented a roadmap for Ethereum's L2 ecosystem and requested funding for open-source development to ensure continued progress.
His vision is already being realized, with projects like Celo successfully transitioning to Ethereum Layer-2 solutions. According to BeInCrypto, Celo completed migration after 20 months of testing to improve scalability and transaction efficiency.
Adoption of Ethereum's L2 expansion solutions like Arbitrum, Optimism, and Polygon has also increased.
This aligns with Buterin's perspective that sustainable blockchain growth comes from enhanced infrastructure.
These movements may decrease Ethereum speculation, but indicate that long-term technological adoption can compensate for this.
Will Petra Upgrade Change the Flow?
Similarly, Ethereum has overcome challenges through significant upgrades. In this context, the upcoming Petra upgrade could be revolutionary.
While delays have frustrated some in the community, this upgrade is expected to improve security, transaction efficiency, and developer-friendly tools.
Ethereum's continued commitment to innovation and ongoing testnet experiments could be the perfect catalyst to reclaim the DeFi throne. The network's dominance in DeFi and Non-Fungible Token ecosystems remains particularly strong.
In fact, meme coins and speculative trading have moved to faster chains like Solana.
Nevertheless, for high-value applications, Ethereum remains central, from decentralized exchanges (DEX) to institutional-grade financial products.
Now the question is whether the focus on Ethereum's real-world adoption can maintain and transcend Bitcoin's dominance in political and financial attention.
With the Pectra upgrade approaching, Ethereum can once again demonstrate that its greatest strength lies in resilience and innovation, along with a community loyal to the chain's dominance in the ecosystem.
Despite the community's optimism, Ethereum's price has dropped by 2.22% over the past 24 hours. According to BeInCrypto data, ETH was trading at $1,842 at the time of writing.
