Crypto: Ether’s 60% Down From Its 2025 High, But Tradfi Keeps Betting On...

Ethereum’s dominant total value locked and widespread adoption by traditional finance institutions confirm its role as the base of global onchain finance. Will Ether price follow?

Institutional adoption of the Ethereum network accelerates despite Ether disappointing price action. Ethereum and its layer-2s hold 65% of TVL market share.

Vitalik Buterin is shifting focus toward base layer scalability and ZK-EVM to ensure long-term onchain efficiency and security.

Critics claiming Ether is poorly positioned may be surprised if the market sentiment shifts back toward cryptocurrencies.

Ether has underperformed the broader crypto market by 9% during the first two months of 2026, challenging the theory that external factors are the sole drivers of this correction. Decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes on the Ethereum network fell 55% over the past six months, while competitor Solana saw a more modest 21% decline during that same timeframe.

Ethereum DEX volumes dropped to $56.5 billion in February 2026, down significantly from a peak of $128.5 billion in August 2025. During the same period, monthly Solana volumes reached $95.5 billion, down from $120.6 billion in August. This contraction in activity has weighed on network fees and decentralized application (DApp) revenue, effectively reducing the immediate incentives for holding Ether.

The narrow focus on volume ignores the fact that Ethereum maintains a 57% market share in total value locked (TVL), totaling $52.4 billion. When including layer-2 solutions such as Base, Arbitrum, Polygon, and Optimism, Ethereum’s dominance rises to 65%. For comparison, Solana’s TVL sits at $6.4 billion, while BNB Chain holds an aggregate $5.5 billion locked in smart contracts.

Major institutions, including JP Morgan Asset Management, Citi, Deutsche Bank, and BlackRock, have recently launched onchain projects using Ethereum. From tokenized funds to dedicated layer-2 rollups and bank-issued stablecoins, Ethereum remains the primary venue for decentralized finance (DeFi) innovation, commanding a 68% market share in Real World Assets (RWA).

Ethereum’s strategic decision to prioritize layer-2 scalability via rollups has been partially labeled a failure, as competing chains like Tron and Solana currently lead in network fees. Regardless of how critics judge the decision to subsidize rollup costs, no "Ethereum killer" has managed to match its monetary value. Even the highly successful Hyperliquid maintains a relatively modest $1.5 b

Source: CoinTelegraph