A month into 2025, Ethereum faces growing uncertainty despite its established dominance in the smart contract space. While ETH registered notable gains in 2024, it lagged behind major competitors like Solana, XRP, and SUI, raising concerns about its ability to maintain market leadership.

The Ethereum Foundation also had a challenging year, dealing with transparency issues, leadership shifts, and increasing skepticism from the community. With experts divided on Ethereum’s future, the question remains: Does it still offer strong investment potential, or are alternative ecosystems becoming more attractive?

Ethereum is Lagging Behind Major Competitors

In 2024, Ethereum ended the year with a 63% gain, but this was far below its major competitors. Bitcoin rose 123%, BNB climbed 134%, and Solana surged 138%.

Smaller players like Hedera (300%), XRP (335%), and SUI (555%) outperformed significantly, suggesting that capital flowed into alternative ecosystems with higher returns.

Ethereum and Hedera were also the only assets in this group that failed to reach a new all-time high. Ethereum’s peak in 2024 barely exceeded $4,000, still well below its 2021 record of $4,864.

When analyzing fees generated in the last 30 days, Ethereum is on the verge of leaving the top 10, with $133 million in fees, just ahead of Pumpfun ($123 million).

Notably, five of the top 10 are Solana-based, including Jito, Raydium, Meteora, and Pump, which, Go to Source to See Full Article
Author: Tiago Amaral