- Ethereum price has outperformed Bitcoin this year and recent decline in performance has investors becoming more cautious.
Ethereum price has been on a downtrend in the last month, with a return of -13% in that period. The coin has been among the top-performing cryptocurrencies in 2025, propelled by a strong performance in the ETF market. However, there has been a notable decline in recent days, with Ethereum spot ETF recording two successive loss-making sessions in the last five sessions. Such a return had not been registered for more than a month, signaling a potential weakening of investor appetite.
The Bullish Case For Ethereum
Despite its recent weakness, Ethereum price is still up by 25% year-to-date, outperforming Bitcoin’s 20% gains. While that gives investors a potential incentive to take profit, a clearer regulatory framework reduces the risk of a steeper decline. The most significant support for Ethereum price is currently at the psychological $4,000 mark.
Ethereum has gained about 80% in the third quarter, making it the the best third quarter since it launched. This isn’t just a rally; it’s Ethereum taking back its place as the leader of altcoins and decentralised applications. As for other strong signals indicating deep demand, analytics site CryptoQuant reports that institutional ETH holdings touched a record 6.7M, futures open interest is growing, and whale buildup is underway.
Source: CyptoQuant
Why Ethereum Is Struggling
However, while there is substantial structural support, that momentum is being offset by retail withdrawals. The figure stood at about -8.2K ETH net differential last week, underlining the buildup of near-term pressure. In addition, an analyst with the X handle @mignoletkr also cautions that Ethereum’s volume dominance is starting to drop and that trading activity is moving to other altcoins. If this holds true, Ethereum could potentially experience increased downward pressure in the coming days.
Elsewhere, DeFiLlama data adds to the downside view of Ethereum price, with the Ethereum chain’s Total Value Locked (TVL) declining significantly. In the last week, the TVL dropped by 4.75%, while the monthly figure was a 5.99% contraction. In addition, the metric was down by 5.19% in the last 24 hours. While Ethereum’s TVL is still at a respectable $90 billion as of this writing, the pattern signals reduced utility which could make it harder for ETH price to build traction.
ETH price is declining in line with the broader crypto market underperformance, with a notable decline in institutional ETF uptake , reduced open interest and DeFi underperformance.
The current momentum signals likely struggle going by key on-chain metrics. Barring a significant new development in market fundamentals, a near-term recovery looks unlikely.
Ethereum has seen its Total Value Locked (TVL) decline significantly by nearly 6% in the last month and 4.75% in the last week.
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