After a short-lived rally in January, Ethereum's price struggles with challenges, and market sentiment has turned muted.
No Whale Frenzy
Ethereum's price has stabilized above $3,000, but CryptoQuant analyst 'IT Tech' warned that a drop to $2,800-$2,500 remains a possibility if whale activity surges amid price weakness. Ethereum's large transaction volume remains low compared to previous bull cycles, indicating a market driven more by retail investors than large institutional players. The absence of excessive speculative activity from whales suggests a more organic rally. Analysts suggest a sustained increase in LTV is necessary for upward momentum toward $3,500 and beyond.
Rocky January for Ethereum
The Ethereum ecosystem has faced criticism over co-founder Vitalik Buterin’s ETH sales, centralization fears, and regulatory uncertainty. However, experts argue that negative sentiment often precedes a rally. With the gradual rise of institutional demand and infrastructure changes, Ethereum holds potential for investment attraction.
Growth Prospects to $20,000
Vivek Raman, former UBS trader and founder of Etherealize, believes crypto assets are undervalued. The Trump family’s DeFi project, World Liberty Finance, invests heavily in Ethereum. Rising institutional demand with asset managers and hedge funds embracing tokenization is reliant on Ethereum's infrastructure. Financial institutions favor Ethereum for its security and programmability, and a staked Ether ETF is anticipated to gain approval from a more innovation-friendly SEC leadership.
Ethereum is experiencing short-term instability, but analysts remain confident in its long-term appeal due to growing institutional interest and emerging market opportunities.
