Key Points
- Ethereum (ETH) has seen a decrease in investor interest compared to Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL).
- Crypto hedge fund Split Capital predicts renewed interest in ETH from 2025.
Ethereum (ETH) has been facing challenges in attracting investor interest in the current cycle due to high levels of fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD).
Zaheer Ebtikar of Split Capital, a crypto hedge fund, suggests that ETH is suffering from ‘middle child syndrome,’ leading to its lagging performance compared to other cryptocurrencies.
Investor Interest in ETH Wanes
ETH’s year-to-date (YTD) return for investors has been a mere 8%, significantly lower than the double-digit returns seen in Bitcoin (BTC) and Solana (SOL).
Ebtikar attributes this underperformance to investors’ focus shifting towards BTC and other competitors of ETH, such as SOL and Sui (SUI).
In the crypto space, there are three primary sources of capital: institutional (via ETFs/futures), private capital (liquid funds, VCs), and retail. However, currently, only the first two are making a significant impact.
Ebtikar noted that institutional capital is primarily focused on BTC, with ETH ETFs seeing net negative flows of $546 million since their launch in July.
Private capital, on the other hand, perceives ETH as overvalued and is redirecting funds to other perceived undervalued ETH competitors like SOL, Celestia (TIA), and SUI.
Future Prospects for ETH
Despite the current lack of interest, Ebtikar predicts that ETH could see a resurgence of interest, particularly from institutional investors, starting from 2025.
He believes potential catalysts for this renewed interest could be increased demand from ETF buyers, changes within the Ethereum Foundation, and political factors.
As of now, ETH is valued at $2.4k and has been trading between $2.3K and $2.5K since the start of October.
