Ethereum’s upgrades fall short as bullish catalysts, analysts say

While Ethereum’s upgrades are progressing toward long-term blockchain adoption, they lack the immediate impact needed to drive bullish sentiment in the market, analysts note.

Ethereum (ETH) has been struggling to keep up with Bitcoin (BTC) since the Merge in 2022, failing to spark the bullish moves many had hoped for, analysts say.

In a recent research note, Singapore-based blockchain firm Matrixport pointed out that most Ethereum upgrades have had little effect on ETH price. Instead of creating instant market changes, these upgrades seem to be part of a long-term strategy for wider blockchain adoption. “These upgrades appear to serve as incremental steps,” Matrixport notes.

Wall Street’s interest in spot Ethereum exchange-traded funds has also been pretty up and down, the analysts point out. They also note that Ethereum hasn’t kept up with newer trends, with many people choosing to issue meme coins on cheaper networks instead.

“Ethereum still faces challenges in solidifying its value proposition,” Matrixport emphasized. Yet, there’re still good news: Tether issuance on Ethereum has recently surpassed that on TRON (TRX), despite the latter “being a cheaper option,” the analysts note.

As crypto.news mentioned earlier, Ethereum has lagged behind Bitcoin this year, staying in a technical bear market after dropping 22% from its 2024 highs. However, several factors point to the possibility of a bullish breakout, with some expecting Ethereum to hit $5,000 in the next few weeks.

Ethereum’s price has traditionally done well in February. Since 2019, it’s posted positive returns every February, with an average of 17% growth since 2017. While past trends can’t serve as a guarantee, there’s growing optimism in the crypto community that Ethereum might see gains in February.