Ethereum: Price and Fundamentals at a Crossroads

Ethereum co-founder Jon Charbonneau published an article last year pointing out that Ethereum lacks a clear development direction. Discussions in the community about the poor performance of ETH prices are ongoing. The ETH price not only reflects market sentiment but also relates to whether Ethereum can unify its vision, balance decentralization with performance, and consolidate its position as a smart contract platform.

The importance of the ETH price ###

The price of ETH directly affects the financial status of the Ethereum Foundation (EF). With current expenditures, EF funds can last for about 7.5 years, but a decline in ETH price will shorten this time.

The price of ETH also affects the network security under the PoS consensus. A price drop can reduce staking rewards, potentially causing nodes to exit and security to decline. Currently, the funds staked on a certain platform have dropped nearly 50% from last year's peak.

The price is still a reflection of the confidence of ecological participants. Currently, the mainstream outlook on Ethereum is not optimistic, and the low price may trigger a negative cycle. Early developers also question the disconnection between the EF and the community, adopting a passive attitude in the face of competition.

The price of ETH is a mirror that deserves the attention of EF.

The Relativity of Decentralization and Competition

The degree of decentralization varies from person to person. For some users, it is enough just to be able to see the token distribution on the chain.

Ethereum faces competition as a value storage asset and smart contract platform:

As a store of value, ETH is hard to compete with Bitcoin. Bitcoin has a clear positioning, a fixed supply, and is easier to understand and accept.

As a smart contract platform, Ethereum is facing fierce competition from certain platforms such as certain platforms. Although it leads in stablecoins and TVL, indicators like activity are showing a downward trend. The flow of funds is also unfavorable to Ethereum.

A loop is formed between the platform, developers, applications, and users. Due to different technical routes, developers often need to choose between Ethereum and a certain platform, and there is competition between the two at this level.

A certain platform has differentiated competitive points not only in technical advantages but also in culture and attracting attention. Many founders choose to build applications on this platform, valuing its activity and user experience.

The choice of the Ethereum Foundation

The community has differences regarding the new chairman, criticizing his management for causing slow development and insufficient support. EF emphasizes that its role is that of a "gardener" rather than a "controller," advocating for decentralized leadership and opposing corporate expansion.

However, overemphasizing values during system decline may seem pale. Ecological prosperity is the foundation for practicing values. Some recent actions by EF have also sparked dissatisfaction within the community.

From the data, Ethereum shows weakness in multiple areas. At this time, insisting on non-intervention may not be wise.

"Ethereum is an ecosystem, not a company"

The founder of Ethereum emphasizes that it is not a company but an ecosystem. This makes it difficult to establish clear metrics to measure efficiency, and the goals tend to diverge. However, the public still tends to evaluate Ethereum in a corporate manner.

From the perspective of protocol revenue and other indicators, Ethereum has lost its strong growth momentum. In terms of technical development, an overly idealistic coordination approach may lead to inefficiency.

EF needs to pragmatically identify problems, listen to opinions, and take action.

Conclusion

In the current market environment, Ethereum is not favored. Its value needs real use cases and community support.

Ethereum can accelerate development progress, focusing on solving issues such as scalability; strengthening education; reforming EF to achieve transparency and supervision.

As a long-term supporter, I feel regret about the current situation, but I also appreciate the vitality brought by competition. I hope Ethereum can regain its former glory.