What had been the crypto comeback story of the year is showing signs of fatigue. After a powerful rally since late June ignited optimism among investors, the past two weeks have painted a far more cautious picture.
At press time, Ethereum is trading near $4,300, about 1% lower compared to last week. Still, since the start of the quarter, ETH remains up an impressive 79%.
Yet, outflows from spot ETFs are clearly weighing on sentiment. While Bitcoin funds have flipped back into positive territory, Ethereum products from BlackRock, Fidelity, and other issuers shed roughly $1.05 billion over the last six trading days.
This downturn follows a record August, when ETH ETFs attracted nearly $4 billion in inflows. That surge was widely credited with fueling Ethereum’s summer rally, with some analysts drawing parallels to Bitcoin’s breakout after U.S. spot BTC ETFs launched in early 2024.
The bearish tone has been amplified by comments from one crypto analyst, who argued that “Ethereum is dying” — pointing not to the price, but to collapsing fee revenue. In August, Ethereum network fees totaled just $39.2 million, down 40% year-over-year and about 20% lower month-on-month
Still, ETH isn’t without support. Treasury buyers continue to accumulate: Bitmine, led by Tom Lee, recently increased its holdings to 2.07 million ETH, valued at more than $9 billion.
Lee has gone as far as calling Ethereum “the biggest macro trade of the next 10–15 years.” Earlier this summer, he projected ETH could climb to $10,000 by year-end — a potential 133% upside from current levels. Whether that forecast proves accurate remains to be seen, but the stakes for Ethereum have rarely been higher.