Key Points
- Bitwise CEO, Matt Hougan, labels Ethereum as the top contrarian bet in the crypto market.
- Analysts predict a strong ETH/BTC rebound in 2025, despite Ethereum’s current underperformance.
Despite lagging behind Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL) recently, Ethereum (ETH) still holds potential as a contrarian bet, according to Matt Hougan, CEO of Bitwise.
ETH: The Best Contrarian Bet
Hougan attributes Ethereum’s leading position as the platform for top crypto applications as a reason for its potential.
He suggests that Ethereum’s rebound could occur in 2025, due to its undergoing complex architectural adjustments that have been overlooked amidst the excitement for Bitcoin and Solana.
Ethereum’s Challenges
Ethereum’s March 2024 upgrade, Dencun, has been met with mixed reactions. The upgrade improved scaling and reduced transaction costs for L2s, but also resulted in network activity shifting from the base layer to L2s, causing Ethereum to become inflationary.
This shift led some to consider Bitcoin a better store of value, causing a drop in the ETH/BTC ratio to yearly lows.
Analyst Benjamin Cowen also predicts a strong ETH/BTC rebound in 2025, based on historical trends. He suggests that while ETH/USD may be weak until the end of 2024, it could find renewed strength in 2025.
Despite negative sentiment, Ethereum’s prices have shown resilience during a Q4 market recovery. Since early October, the altcoin’s value has increased by nearly 13%, from $2.3k to $2.6k.
At press time, Ethereum was valued at $2.63k, approximately 53% off its 2024 highs of 4k.
