News 
January 30, 2025 
3 min. 
Ethereum recent performance has raised eyebrows in the cryptocurrency community as the leading smart contract platform struggles to reclaim the $3,500 threshold. Despite the broader crypto market showing a 6% gain over the past 30 days, ETH has bucked the trend with an 8% decline, leaving investors questioning the factors needed to reignite momentum.
Ethereum Network Activity Shifts and Competition Intensify Pressure
The Ethereum ecosystem has grown increasingly complex, with rival networks making significant inroads into traditionally ETH-dominated sectors. Solana has emerged as the leader in DEX volumes, while Tron has captured an impressive 28% of the stablecoin market. Adding to these challenges, Ethereum’s layer-2 scaling strategy, while innovative, has led to unexpectedly low block utilization, raising questions about network efficiency.
A surprising development came with the launch of the Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin on Solana, which generated over $12 billion in trading volume within its first 48 hours. This shift away from Ethereum for a high-profile token launch, especially given Trump’s previous NFT ventures on the Ethereum network, has further dampened market sentiment.
Technical Upgrades and Market Clarity Required for Breakthrough
The path to breaking above $3,500 appears increasingly dependent on the success of Ethereum’s upcoming Pectra upgrade, scheduled for early 2025. This significant protocol enhancement promises to deliver improved interoperability, enhanced wallet security, and streamlined storage management. However, investors remain concerned that the current development pace may not generate sufficient fee revenue from the layer-2 ecosystem to justify higher valuations.
Market participants are also closely watching transaction fees, which have remained above $2, while the steady increase in ETH supply continues to influence market dynamics. The perceived lack of support from the Ethereum Foundation has drawn criticism from the community, highlighting the need for stronger institutional backing to drive the next phase of growth.
