TL;DR
- Although it has moved a little from the multi-year low against BTC recorded earlier this year, ETH continues to struggle when compared to the largest cryptocurrency (and also the greenback).
- However, several factors may help it recover some ground and end the year on a high note.
Tech Factors
It has been noted repeatedly over the past few months that Ethereum’s (ETH) price has failed to mimic any of Bitcoin’s (BTC) momentum. While the largest cryptocurrency surged to a new all-time high in January 2025 nearing $110,000, Ethereum found itself repeatedly halted around the $4,000 mark, unable to approach its peak from 2021.
The current trading price of just over $1,800 indicates that ETH is trading lower against the dollar now than it was prior to the US elections, which are generally considered the starting point of the current market cycle. Moreover, the ETH/BTC trading pair reached a five-year low of under 0.018 recently, hovering close to those depressed levels.
To put this into perspective, the same pair stood above 0.15 during the 2017/2018 cycle, when there were speculations about a potential “flippening”—a staggering 88% drop since then!
Nonetheless, some analysts remain optimistic that ETH can rebound, with various technological advancements outlined as crucial to outperform Bitcoin. Notably, improvements in scalability are essential for this second-largest blockchain. Recent network upgrades, such as the Pectra update, could enhance usability and restore some investor confidence in ETH’s underlying potential.
Market Sentiment
Investors often perceive Bitcoin as “digital gold,” viewing it primarily as a hedge against inflation and a stable store of value. In contrast, Ethereum’s appeal lies in its function as a programmable blockchain. Should Ethereum achieve broader adoption, especially within realms such as decentralized finance (DeFi), enterprise blockchain applications, or NFTs, it could witness remarkable growth.
“Ethereum’s value proposition, though, lies in its use case as a programmable blockchain. If Ethereum gains wider adoption and institutional interest—especially in sectors like decentralized finance (DeFi), enterprise blockchain solutions, or NFTs—it could experience significant growth.”
Consequently, ETH must continue to develop within its own niche, despite Vitalik Buterin’s recent comments about the simplicity of Bitcoin. However, it faces significant competition in this sector, particularly from other notable projects like Solana, which has superior transaction speeds and lower costs. Additionally, the Layer-2 solutions designed to address these issues have recently come under criticism.
In conclusion, while Ethereum possesses potential to outperform Bitcoin in specific areas, Bitcoin’s established role as the primary store of value, coupled with its stable growth trajectory, makes it likely to maintain an edge for the foreseeable future. As such, one should approach expectations of ETH’s outperformance relative to BTC this year with caution.
The post Can Ethereum (ETH) Outperform Bitcoin (BTC) in 2025? appeared first on CryptoPotato.
