Ether’s potential in the 2025 bull market is under scrutiny as 10x Research suggests it may not perform as well as Bitcoin. Markus Thielen, head of research at 10x Research, expressed skepticism about Ether’s medium-term investment prospects, indicating it may underperform Bitcoin yet again. He pointed out the one-month decline in Ethereum validators, raising concerns about potential network exits and lack of real demand outside staking.
Despite a rise in unstaking activities, some experts remain optimistic about Ether’s future. Attestant’s Tim Lowe argued that with refined marketing and clear value propositions, Ether could attract more investors, driven by diversification from Bitcoin. Ether’s performance has lagged behind Bitcoin, with a 46.29% return compared to Bitcoin’s 121.4% increase this year.
The launch of Bitcoin ETFs in January spurred significant inflows, enhancing Bitcoin’s value, while Ether ETFs introduced later saw lower demand, contributing to a bearish outlook. Thielen criticized the timing of Ethereum’s Duncan upgrade, which improved transaction efficiency but failed to capitalize on the meme coin craze, leaving market interest to shift toward Solana.
Ethereum’s upcoming Pectra upgrade in 2025 is met with skepticism, as only two out of its 19 upgrades historically generated notable price impacts. However, some crypto traders like Cold Blooded Schiller and Dal foresee potential bullish scenarios for Ether, depending on key price levels. Michael van de Poppe of MN Capital is also optimistic, anticipating a possible strengthening of Ether relative to Bitcoin in early 2025.
At present, the ETH/BTC ratio stands at 0.03571, and with varied opinions on its future trajectory, the outlook for Ether’s performance in 2025 remains mixed.
