Ethereum, the titan of the crypto realm, is facing a storm. From its December 2024 high of $4,107, ETH has plummeted over 52%, with a 42% drop since the dawn of 2025. Despite its dominance in the Web3 and DeFi spaces, the short-term outlook for ETH isn’t exactly sunshine and rainbows.
Crypto analyst Askel Kibar throws a cautionary flag to traders who think ETH is a bargain just because it’s far below its average trading price. On X, Kibar shared insights that “bottom reversals take time” as “all that supply needs to be accumulated.” In simpler terms, don’t expect a quick rebound.
Kibar’s analysis paints a picture of caution. He suggests that for ETH to outperform Bitcoin, it needs to mimic its 2018-2020 price action. Back then, after a prolonged downtrend, ETH formed a double bottom in late 2019 before staging a comeback. Right now, however, ETH’s chart doesn’t show any signs of such a bottoming formation. Trading ETH now? It’s like trying to catch a falling knife.
In a twist that adds more clouds to the horizon, Standard Chartered has slashed its 2025 ETH price prediction from $10,000 to $4,000—a whopping 60% cut. Geoff Kendrick, the bank’s global head of Digital Assets Research, expects ETH’s structural decline to continue. He points out that layer 2 solutions like Base have siphoned off $50 billion from ETH’s market cap, challenging Ethereum’s scalability narrative.
Kendrick highlights that Base, designed to tackle Ethereum’s scalability issues, is channeling all its profits to Coinbase, its corporate owner. This unexpected outcome of the Dencun upgrade has left many scratching their heads.
Adding to the chorus of caution are VanEck’s Matthew Sigel and Patrick Bush. They echo the sentiment that ETH’s decline stems from eroding core factors that once made Ethereum a powerhouse. Layer 2 blockchains like Arbitrum and Base are eating into ETH’s fee revenue, while Solana’s memecoin trading is stealing the spotlight.
In this turbulent crypto sea, Ethereum faces challenges from all sides. While the long-term potential of ETH remains a topic of debate, one thing is clear: the road ahead is anything but smooth. As always, tread carefully in the crypto world—it’s a wild ride!
