Ethereum’s Market Share Drops in 2025 as Solana & Rivals Surge Ahead

Ethereum’s Era of Dominance Faces New Challenges

According to Cointelegraph, Ethereum’s dominance among layer-1 (L1) blockchain networks has significantly declined. Alex Svanevik, CEO of Nansen, stated during the LONGITUDE by Cointelegraph event that Ethereum’s share of total value locked (TVL) has dropped from 96% in 2021 to 51% today, representing $52 billion out of the total TVL across blockchains. Svanevik described the current landscape as an “open race” among multiple L1s to become the leading Web3 platform, with Solana emerging as a strong contender due to its faster transactions and lower fees. Solana has reportedly overtaken Ethereum in several on-chain metrics, including active addresses, transaction volume, and gas fees, although Ethereum still leads in TVL and stablecoin issuance. Vardan Khachatryan, chief legal officer of Fastex, noted that many chains gain popularity during bull runs due to hype rather than sustained adoption.

Ethereum’s TVL: $52 billion (51% of total)
2021 Ethereum TVL dominance: 96%
Solana leads in active addresses, transaction volume, and gas fees

Summary: Ethereum’s dominance is waning, with Solana and other L1s rapidly gaining ground, making the competition for Web3 leadership more open than ever (Source: Cointelegraph).

Pectra Upgrade on Gnosis Chain Signals Confidence for Ethereum’s Next Hard Fork

The Block reports that Gnosis Chain has successfully implemented its version of Ethereum’s anticipated Pectra upgrade, which incorporates 11 Ethereum Improvement Proposals (EIPs). This upgrade, considered the most significant since the Dencun release in 2024, is expected to roll out on Ethereum’s mainnet soon. Notable features include EIP-7702, which enhances account abstraction, allowing wallets to function more like smart contracts, and an increase in the validator staking cap from 32 ETH to 2,048 ETH. The upgrade also enables gas payments in tokens other than ETH, such as USDC or DAI, and doubles L2 data blobs to six per block. Gnosis Chain’s successful integration, which occurred without issues, provides confidence for the upcoming Ethereum mainnet upgrade, especially after previous testnet complications.

Pectra includes 11 EIPs
Validator staking cap increased to 2,048 ETH
Gas payments in tokens like USDC or DAI enabled
Gnosis Chain’s Pectra release: April 30
Ethereum mainnet Pectra upgrade scheduled: May 7

Summary: The smooth rollout of Pectra on Gnosis Chain bodes well for Ethereum’s upcoming mainnet upgrade, promising enhanced functionality and user experience (Source: The Block).

Ethereum Network Activity Declines, Inflationary Pressure Rises

BeInCrypto highlights a significant slowdown in Ethereum’s user activity, leading to a reduced burn rate and increased circulating supply. In the past month, 72,927 ETH (valued at $134 million) were added to the circulating supply, which now stands at 120,730,199 ETH. The daily amount of ETH burned has dropped by 95% year-to-date, with April 20 marking the lowest daily burn. Users are increasingly migrating to Layer-2 solutions like Optimism and Arbitrum, where transaction fees are much lower ($0.024 on Optimism vs. $0.18 on Ethereum as of April 30). Despite these challenges, Ethereum maintains a strong TVL of $368.921 billion, but ranks only fifth in 24-hour fees behind Tron, Solana, HyperLiquid, Bitcoin, and BNB Chain. Experts warn that continued low activity and increased supply could result in bearish price movements, with ETH currently trading at $1,834 and a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 57.68.

Metric	Value
ETH added to supply (last month)	72,927 ETH ($134 million)
Total circulating ETH	120,730,199 ETH
ETH daily burn rate drop (YTD)	95%
Ethereum TVL	$368.921 billion
ETH price	$1,834
RSI	57.68

Summary: Ethereum faces inflationary pressure due to declining network activity and burn rate, though its fundamentals remain strong compared to other L1s (Source: BeInCrypto).

Vitalik Buterin Advocates for Simpler Ethereum

DL News reports that Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin has proposed a plan to simplify the protocol, aiming to make it as “beautifully simple” as Bitcoin within five years. Buterin’s vision includes overhauling Ethereum’s consensus system to reduce code size and validator complexity, and transitioning from the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) to a faster, cleaner architecture like RISC-V. This shift is intended to improve performance and ease smart contract development. The Ethereum Foundation has also decided to refocus on the base layer, scrapping the planned EVM upgrade (EOF) from the upcoming Fusaka hard fork. As of the latest data, Ethereum is trading at $1,825, down 0.5% in the past 24 hours.

Goal: Make Ethereum as simple as Bitcoin
Transition from EVM to RISC-V proposed
Recent EVM upgrade (EOF) scrapped
ETH price: $1,825 (down 0.5% in 24h)

Summary: Vitalik Buterin’s roadmap aims to simplify Ethereum’s core protocol, prioritizing scalability, security, and user experience (Source: DL News).

Two Prime Drops Ethereum, Citing Memecoin-Like Volatility and Weak Institutional Demand

CryptoSlate reports that algorithmic trading firm Two Prime has dropped its exposure to Ethereum, labeling it a memecoin due to its unpredictable trading behavior and declining institutional interest. CEO Alexander Blume stated that Bitcoin is now the firm’s sole focus for lending and management, citing Bitcoin’s superior liquidity, predictability, and long-term viability. Two Prime’s analysis shows that since November 2024, Ethereum’s volatility and return structure have decoupled from Bitcoin, with ETH displaying negative momentum and volatility similar to Dogecoin. Institutional demand for ETH is also lagging, with ETH ETFs managing $4.71 billion (2.22% of supply) compared to Bitcoin ETFs’ $113 billion (5.76% of supply). The firm also criticized Ethereum’s economic and technical model, governance, and lack of a clear monetization strategy, noting that alternatives like Solana offer better performance and user experience.

Asset	ETF Assets	% of Supply
Bitcoin	$113 billion	5.76%
Ethereum	$4.71 billion	2.22%

Summary: Two Prime’s exit from Ethereum underscores concerns about its volatility, weak institutional demand, and competitive threats from faster, cheaper blockchains (Source: CryptoSlate).

Ethereum Underperforms Bitcoin and Solana in 2025

FXStreet details Ethereum’s significant underperformance in 2025, with a loss of nearly 50% year-to-date. In contrast, Bitcoin and Solana have reached new highs, while Ethereum’s dominance has dropped from 19% in 2024 to 7%. The Dencun upgrade in March 2024, which introduced blobspace for L2 transactions, reduced Ethereum’s revenue and burn rate, turning ETH supply inflationary with an increase of over 730,000 ETH since April 2024. Solana’s revenue and price have surged due to meme coin trading, with over 17 million new addresses and 9.6 million tokens launched via Pumpfun since January 2024. Bitcoin ETFs have attracted $39.56 billion in net inflows, while ETH ETFs have only seen $2.49 billion. Publicly traded firms hold significant amounts of Bitcoin but negligible ETH. Additionally, Ethereum has been the target of over 50% of stolen cryptocurrencies since 2024, with the Bybit hack alone resulting in $1.4 billion in stolen ETH. The Ethereum Foundation is responding with leadership changes and the upcoming Pectra upgrade, aiming to improve scalability, privacy, and user experience.

Ethereum 2025 loss: ~50%
ETH supply growth since April 2024: +730,000 ETH
Solana: 17 million new addresses, 9.6 million tokens via Pumpfun
Bitcoin ETF inflows: $39.56 billion
ETH ETF inflows: $2.49 billion
Bybit hack: $1.4 billion in stolen ETH

Summary: Ethereum’s underperformance is driven by inflationary supply, reduced demand, and competition from Solana and Bitcoin, but upcoming upgrades aim to reverse the trend (Source: FXStreet).

Solana Shows Resilience Amid Global Economic Tensions

CoinDesk reports that Solana (SOL) surged 8% from its April 30 low of $140 to $152.69, despite global macroeconomic tensions and a 7.4% correction. The daily trading volume jumped 35% over 24 hours, and technical analysis indicates the formation of an ascending channel with resistance at $152.50 and support at $148.50–$149.50. The bullish momentum appears sustainable, with higher lows suggesting a potential continuation toward the $155 psychological level. The CoinDesk 20 Index also climbed about 4% on the same day, highlighting broader market resilience.

Date	SOL Price Low	SOL Price High	Volume Change (24h)
April 30	$140	$152.69	+35%

Summary: Solana’s strong recovery and technical indicators point to continued bullish momentum, even amid global economic uncertainty (Source: CoinDesk).

Sui Rallies After 21Shares Files for SUI ETF

The Daily Hodl reports that Sui, a competitor to Solana, saw its price rise from $3.56 to $3.75 (over 5%) after 21Shares filed for a spot SUI ETF in the US. The asset later retraced to $3.57. Duncan Moir, president of 21Shares, stated that the filing reflects both consumer demand and the firm’s belief in Sui’s potential. Canary Capital has also filed for a SUI ETF. The SEC is currently reviewing more than 70 applications for various crypto exchange-traded products. The approval of spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs in previous years has brought billions in inflows to those assets.

SUI price jump: $3.56 to $3.75 (+5%)
Current SUI price: $3.57
SEC reviewing 70+ crypto ETF applications

Summary: Sui’s price responded positively to ETF news, highlighting growing investor interest in new blockchain projects (Source: The Daily Hodl).

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