And please, Ethereum again on the languages. Apparently it jumped to the new ATH at the level of over 4,950 USD at the end of August, and here suddenly Bum, Messari throws a bomb that the network is dying. This can confirm the theory that the price is one thing, and the foundations are another, and this whole hype with institutions can only be a balloon that will break soon. But seriously, why all these ETFs and Korpo buying ETH, since the network earns poorly like never before from 2021? For me it is quite a controversial topic.
ETH in 2025 includes a new ATH at USD 4,957, and more precisely from April to August 24, we record an increase of over 240%. The institutions are crazy, since June companies from ETH in the treasury have won a few percent of the entire Supply. Four largest players, such as Bitmine, Sharplink Gaming, Bit Digital and The Ether Machine, keep ETH $ 2.7 million together, worth over 12 billion USD. Spot ETFs on ETH?
In August, almost $ 3,9 billion came, while BTC ETFs recorded drains. This is capital rotation, investors see in ETH a chance for a quick profit. Blackrock’s Etha already has over 16 billion AUM, and Staking at Ethereum blocks 35.7 million ETH, or almost 30% Supply, worth USD 90 billion. Sounds like a paradise for Hodler, right?
But wait, according to some, it’s just an area. An analyst at Messari, AJC (the one from @avgjoescrypto), he threw an interesting theory on X: “Ethereum’s Fundamentals are collapsing, but the .eths don’t care so long as the price goes up‘
Total network fees dropped by 20% to 39.7 million, and the burning of tokens (this part, which goes to Eth Holders) is only 14.1 million. For comparison, in January 2024 the network burned 550 million in Fees, and now it is near zero. Like any network, it can experience ups and downs and this is completely normal.
Why so? Dencun Upgrade from March 2024 did its job. Transactions to L2 have become cheaper, which is great for users, but therefore L1 loses Volume. Activity is transferred to L2 like Arbitrum or Base, where network fees are microscopic. AJC speaks directly, metrics like Active Addresses (552k per day, +21% Yoy), transactions or throughput to “Meaningless statistics” – they do not generate a real revenge in Eth. Stablecoin Supply on Ethereum? ATH 165 billion, +5 billion last week, 57% of all stabla. But Ajc riposes: “does not affect ETH until velocity grows” – So how many times these stables are circulating, not just sitting.
A friend from Messari, Rick, tries to save ETH saying: “App Revenue and L2 Scaling are growing, the network does not die“Well, DEFI TVL on L2 is 62.4 billion, +33% QOQ, but this does not compensate for the inheritance at mainnet. For comparison Solana? This earned 1.25 billion Revenue YTD, 2.5x more than ETH. A ethereum? In Q2 2025 Fees fell, TVL defs in total, nft volume -65% pectra. The upgrade in May 2025 improved the staking and blobs, but he did not stop the bleeding.If there is no marginal Demand for the new L2, what is all this for?“
And here the dog can be buried, because ETH is not Tech Stock, but AJC is right that Revenue in ETH is the key to value. China is supposed to hold the mass of ETH, which threatens the market, and this only adds salt. Institutions buy because they see Yield from Staking (3.14% APR), but if Network does not earn, what about security? Ethereum has been announced “dead” 150 times since 2014, but this time the data beat the point.
What is my opinion on this topic?
I always try to look from two sides, and after a deeper research I come to the conclusion that Ethereum is not dying at all! It’s just an illusion, because the network is evolving, not raining. Revenue has fallen? Okay, but this is not the end of the world, this is the result of planned upgrades that they make Eth with a scalable monster. Let’s analyze it in turn, with specific numbers, because talks without data are pure speculation. And no, I’m not Eth Maxi, but the facts are facts.
First of all, remember that Ethereum is not a company that must pump profits for shareholders quarterly. This is a decentralized Ledger, where new economies are built, which are free and do not need permits to act. As many specialists say, foundations are not only a cash register, but Settlement Value and Ecosystem. And the data show that there is power here! The ETH chart for BTC looks healthy and I expect to break here as in 2021.
Activity is transferred to L2 and it is great, not a drama
People shout that L1 is dead, because the profit from fees dropped by 60%, but this is because after Dencun Upgrade (March 2024) and Pectra (May 2025) the weight went to Layer-2. It’s not a bug, it’s modernization. 85% of ETH transactions are now happening on L2, which means scalability on steroids, because cheaper TXS equals more users. For example, L2 process over 1.54 million transactions a day, beating Mainnet at the moment. TVL on L2? USD 10.2 billion, and the total secured value in scalable projects is 44.76 billion (height 55.9% Yoy). Without it, Mainnet would clog up like in 2021, and the fees would be 100 buckles per swap. Now? Users are happy and the ecosystem is growing.
Stablecoin on ATH is a sign that liquidity flows full gas
Stablecoin Supply on Ethereum? Here we have a new record, USD 165 billion in September 2025, which gives 57% of the global market. It’s +13.2 billion + in August alone! USDC leads from $ 39.7 billion in Q1, and the whole shows that institutions and DEFs pump the cash here. Velocity? It may not grow like crazy, but Supply is the basis, because without it there is no trade, lending or yield farming. The throne has USDT domination, but ETH holds 90% of the value. This is not death, this is the dominance in DEFI.
DEFI TVL explods, APP Revenue also up
TVL jumped 41% in Q3 2025 to over USD 160 billion. This is the first time since May 2022. The end of August for this, 152.75 billion, and ETH is dominated by 63% of the entire DEFI with 78.1 billion TVL. It’s not only Stable Coins, but protocols like Aave, Uniswap. They grow despite the “revenue decline”. App Revenue and Onchain metrics show positive trends, as Rick from Messari says. Number of active addresses, +21% per 552k. NFT Volume down? Okay, but DEFI and RWA make up. Ethereum has 330 billion in user assets. In my opinion, it is security and versatility. Volumen On-Chain exploded on the Eth network in August, it is also a positive sign.
ETFs and institutions pump money like never before
Spot ETH ETF-Y? In August, the inflow of USD 3,87 billion. BTC beats, which had drains close to USD 1 billion. Blackrock’s Etha has 16 billion AUM, and the whole shows capital rotation to ETH. This is not speculation, it is Korpo Treasuries and Yield of Staking (3.14% APR, 35.7 million ETH blocked worth 90 billion). China is holding the mass? Maybe, but institutions see the future in investing in it. Outflows in September? Temporary, I think the reflection will come, and it’s big. Remember that this bull market is different than the previous ones. Governments, institutions, ETFs are all new for the market and we must be able to adapt to it. It is always worth knowing two sides of the coin and assessing the situation yourself.
