Once seen as Bitcoin's main rival, Ethereum is now losing ground to other altcoins like Solana and XRP. With BTC surging ahead, many wonder why ETH is struggling to keep up. What's behind this shift and is Ethereum doomed to remain in Bitcoin's shadow?
Since the beginning of 2025, Ethereum has been facing serious challenges. Once touted as the rival of Bitcoin, ETH is struggling to compete with newer cryptocurrencies like Solana and XRP. This decline has drawn the attention of key industry players and the general public.
According to a recent report from Bloomberg, Ethereum is currently going through the toughest period in its history as it enters its second decade of existence. Developers are fleeing the network, early adopters are disgruntled, and the token has started falling behind BTC and its smaller competitors.
Despite Ethereum remaining the second-largest crypto with a market capitalization of $221 billion, ETH has seen a significant decline. Since the beginning of the year, it has lost over 44%, dropping from $3,600 in January 2025 to just $1,800. This fall puts the altcoin on track for its worst quarterly decline since the bear market of 2022.
In the last 12 months, while Bitcoin has seen a rise of 30%, Ethereum has dropped by 47%, gradually losing its lead over its competitors. Its market dominance has decreased from 17% to just 7.9%.
This situation is partly due to the decrease of active developers on Ethereum-related software by 17% in 2024. Meanwhile, its direct rival Solana has seen a significant increase in active developers, becoming a popular hub for memecoins with an 83% growth over a year.
Other cryptocurrencies like XRP by Ripple have also outperformed ETH, with a 249% increase in market capitalization over a year, rising from $30 to $127 billion.
According to AMBCrypto’s analysis, Ethereum is currently under strong bearish pressure. At the time of writing, the altcoin was trading at $1,800, marking a decrease of 2.11% for the day and 8.50% for the week, indicating a significant negative sentiment.
In the short term, ETH could test the bottom of its Mean Reversion Channel in 3H, around $1,730. However, with an oversold RSI and positioned in a strong demand zone, ETH should be able to resist and stay above $1,700.
Furthermore, technical signals indicate a continuation of the bearish trend. The Stoch RSI recently made a bearish crossover five days ago and dropped to 14.6, reflecting a strong downward momentum.
Therefore, if the observed external factors remain unfavorable, the retreat could continue, with a risk of ETH falling to $1,761 to $1,730. To see a bullish perspective, Ethereum will need to reclaim and stay above $2,000. Its 50-day moving average standing at $1,942 poses a significant resistance in the upcoming days in the event of a rebound.
Charles Ledoux is a Bitcoin and blockchain technology specialist. A graduate of the Crypto Academy, he has been a Bitcoin miner for over a year. He has written numerous masterclasses to educate newcomers to the industry and has authored over 2,000 articles on cryptocurrency. Now, he aims to share his passion for crypto through his articles for InvestX.
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