Ethereum's Stumble: Competitors Surge as Market Leadership Falters

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Ethereum's Lagging Performance Raises Concerns as Competitors Surge

Ethereum (ETH), the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, has been struggling to keep up with its major competitors in recent months. While Bitcoin (BTC) and other altcoins have surged, Ethereum has lagged behind, raising concerns about its ability to maintain market leadership.

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 new all-time highs. Ethereum's peak in 2024 barely exceeded $4,000, still well below its 2021 record of $4,864.

Fees in the last 30 days for different chains, protocols, and applications show that 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, along with Solana itself, have all generated more fees than ETH.

The Ethereum Foundation has faced heavy criticism in recent months, with issues beginning when key members took advisory roles at EigenLayer, a hyped Ethereum project. The foundation was also called out for a lack of transparency after a $100 million transfer to Kraken. Further controversy arose when reports suggested that the foundation was selling ETH every 11 days, prompting Vitalik Buterin to defend its neutrality and reject staking ETH.

“We are indeed currently in the process of large changes to EF leadership structure, which has been ongoing for close to a year. Some of this has already been executed on and made public