ETH price has been the subject of discussion and even mockery to some extent largely due to its underperformance.
This is understandable especially looking back at how the cryptocurrency performed over the last few years.
For context, ETH price hovered around the current price tag at around the same time in April 2021 and 2023.
Meaning those that purchased during those periods have not made any returns. The situation is no doubt much worse especially for those that purchased ETH above $4,000 and are now in deep losses.
While its bearish performance has attracted a lot of criticism in recent past, on-chain data from IntoTheBlock reveals that roughly 40% of ETH holders are still in the money despite ETH price dip in the last 4 months.
IntoTheBlock data also revealed that 75% of the coins in holder addresses were acquired more than 12 months ago.
Only 23% were acquired within the last 12 months. The 40% profitability could signal that most ETH holders that are still in profit are long term holders.
ETH Price Demonstrated a Sharper Bearish Performance Than Bitcoin
The claims that ETH has been underperforming relative to other top coins were validated by its Q1 2025 performance. ETH was down by almost 50% as of 4 April while Bitcoin was down by almost 15%.
The numbers were more pronounced when considering the highest to lowest price tags in Q1.
In that regard, Bitcoin was down by 29% from its January top to its bottom in March. ETH was down by 52% from its peak price in January to its lowest price point in March.
ETH price action was a reflection of the relatively weak demand for the cryptocurrency among institutional holders.
Ethereum ETF flows were predominantly in the red during the 3-month period. The same trend has been playing out for the last 2 weeks.
In addition, weak ETH demand was also because of intense competition from other blockchains.
Rivals such as Solana, Sui and others achieved impressive growth in 2024, and secured a huge chunk of market share that was previously Ethereum dominated.
The competition also made alternative coins more appealing hence ETH was significantly sidelined.
ETH Whales Make a Splash But Can Their Ripples Manifest Into Massive Demand Wave?
ETH maintained decent whale activity over the last 3 months despite the bearish market outcome.
But how does whale activity compare now especially after the tariffs-fueled storm that occurred recently?
Large holder netflows bounced back considerably since the end of March. For context, netflows surged from -12,010 ETH on 30 March to 130,990 ETH as of 2 April.
The figure has remained in favor of inflows since then, indicating that some whales have been accumulating at recent lows.
The positive large holder flows are a good sign for the bulls. This is because they indicate that whales might be attempting to trigger a demand resurgence.
However, positive flows into whale addresses were notably lower than peak whale activity in February and March, meaning current whale demand is weak.
Will ETH maintain the same trend in the next 9 months or will ETH bulls make a strong comeback?
The Q1 performance may have dampened investor sentiment and could potentially see influence the level of attention that the coin will receive in the coming days.
Ethereum could still deploy a wild card that could turn things around in its favor. The network’s Pectra upgrade slated for 7 May will address some of the Ethereum network’s challenges including high transaction fees and scalability.
The upgrade will reportedly boost scalability and lower fees, while also enhancing security.
Whether these changes will boost Ethereum network’s appeal remains unknown but could potentially set the pace for some interesting times ahead.
The post ETH Price Maintains Healthy Profitability Despite Recent Downside appeared first on The Coin Republic.
