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Despite the altcoin king’s latest parabolic upsurge, a researcher at the crypto analytics firm Messari has suggested that Ethereum is actually dying.
AJC’s assertion comes from the fact that Ethereum revenue is apparently falling. In August, the network generated roughly $39.2 million in revenue, making it one of the worst months that the network has recorded since January 2021. For perspective, this figure was down 75% from August 2023 and down 30% from August 2024. In fact, this is one of the worst months that the network has recorded since January 2021 in terms of revenue.
“Ethereum’s fundamentals are collapsing, but the .eths don’t care so long as the price goes up,” the researcher wrote.
Responding to AJC, fellow Messari research analyst Rick noted that activity metrics have started showing positive trends, albeit small. Rick pointed to app revenue and stablecoin supply reaching all-time highs, and the continued Layer-2 scaling as proof that Ethereum was not dying.
 
Nevertheless, AJC argues that metrics such as active addresses, transactions, and throughput are “meaningless statistics.” Moreover, he claimed that stablecoin supply does not impact Ethereum unless it also boosts velocity. In addition, continued L2 scaling doesn’t mean all that much “if there’s no marginal user demand for another L2,” AJC quipped.
Strong Spot Ethereum ETF Flows, Treasury Demand
Meanwhile, U.S.-listed spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have witnessed steady growth since their launch in July 2024, while corporate treasuries tied to the token are also on the rise.
Inflows into these ETH-based investment products have surpassed those into Bitcoin ETFs, attracting more capital than BTC funds, and reflecting the current capital rotation into Ether ETFs as investors see more opportunities to profit from the second-largest cryptocurrency.
Notably, spot ETH ETFs witnessed unprecedented demand in August, registering nearly $3.9 billion in inflows compared with Bitcoin ETFs’ $750 million outflows.
Ether’s price has also benefited from continued accumulation from digital asset treasury companies (DAT). The four biggest corporate holders of ether — Bitmine, SharpLink Gaming, Bit Digital, and The Ether Machine — collectively hold around 2.7 million ETH, worth more than $12 billion.
This underscores the confidence these institutional investors have in the future prospects of ETH, reinforcing bullish demand.