Cryptocurrency
Mounting Evidence of Ethereum’s Struggles: Volatility, ETF Losses, Weak Demand

Ether’s price has been struggling to break above the $2,750 resistance level, despite rising by over 44% this month.
Now, several evidence point to the altcoin’s struggles throughout the 2023-25 cycle, which revealed both volatility and capital flow patterns that contrast sharply with prior cycles and competitor assets like Bitcoin and Solana.
Ethereum Faces Significant Headwinds
One of the most notable indicators is Ether’s realized volatility, which has compressed across cycles as the asset’s size grows, currently hovering around 80%, down from over 120% in earlier periods, according to Glassnode’s latest report.
Typically, Ether’s 3-month realized volatility rises during bull markets and falls during bearish trends. However, this cycle has defied that pattern. In fact, after reaching 60% at the mid-2024 peak of roughly $4,000, realized volatility surprisingly climbed above 90% even as the price declined toward $1,500. This atypical increase in volatility amid falling prices signals increased market uncertainty and instability.
Moreover, while the drawdown structure in this cycle generally aligns with the typical Ether bull market pattern – where corrections of 40% or more from local peaks are common – the key deviation lies in the absence of a fresh ATH price for the altcoin, unlike Bitcoin and Solana, both of which set new peaks in this cycle. This lack of a new high has been a disappointment for many investors who expected the world’s second-largest crypto asset to track more closely with its peers.
Additionally, Ether’s downside price movements have been unusually volatile, with multiple drawdowns exceeding 40% and the current 2025 drawdown peaking at an unusually severe 65.4%. While previous cycles have seen similar or worse drawdowns, they tended to occur later in the cycle. As such, this early, steep correction suggests structural weaknesses unique to this period.
In terms of capital inflows, the Realized Cap – a measure of the value of all Ether based on the price at which coins last moved – has increased by only 38% since the cycle low in January 2023, growing from $176 billion to $243 billion.
This pales in comparison to the massive growth during the 2021 cycle, which saw more than a 1,000% increase. The relatively muted capital inflow of approximately $67 billion during this cycle underlines weaker liquidity support and helps explain the crypto asset’s subdued price performance.
Supporting this narrative, trade activity on major centralized exchanges has mirrored these trends: spot volume, which peaked at $14.7 billion per day during the $4,000 price high in December 2024, plunged by roughly 80% to $2.9 billion per day. Though recent trading volumes have rebounded to $8.6 billion daily, spot volumes have yet to establish new cycle highs, as seen with previous cycles.
Average ETH ETF investor Substantially Underwater
The firm’s analysis further revealed that the average investor in the BlackRock and Fidelity Ethereum ETFs is currently facing an unrealized loss of approximately 21%. Net outflows from these ETFs have tended to accelerate whenever Ethereum’s spot price drops below the average cost basis, observed during important declines in August 2024 and again in January and March 2025.
Despite initial excitement, the ETFs accounted for only around 1.5% of spot market trade volume at launch, pointing to a lukewarm reception. While this rose to over 2.5% in November 2024, it has since reverted back to 1.5%.
While the current market conditions reveal mounting pressure for the crypto asset, certain market experts also predict that it could hit the $3,000 mark as early as June.
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Cryptocurrency
How Much You Should Invest in Bitcoin (BTC)? Veteran Trader Peter Brandt Weighs in

TL;DR
- The expert advises monthly investments in SPY and BTC for long-term success.
- The leading cryptocurrency is up 6% this week and trades near $108,000. Analysts are split – some see a breakout to $130K – $200K if key resistance levels are cleared, while others warn of a possible drop to $100K or even $95K if momentum fades.
‘Trading is the Wrong Path’
Besides its fundamentals and ability to transform the global financial system, Bitcoin (BTC) has proven to be an excellent investment opportunity.
At least, that was the case in the past few years: the asset went through multiple bear and bull markets to eventually cross the $100,000 mark. Currently, it trades at around $108,000 (according to CoinGecko’s data), representing a 75% increase on a yearly scale and a substantial 43,000% jump compared to its valuation a decade ago.
But does the leading cryptocurrency remain a good investment after this major rally over the years, and how much should people allocate to it? That’s a question many people are trying to figure out.
It seems that there isn’t a direct answer, and it all depends on the risk profile of the investors, as well as other important factors. However, one can turn to certain experts who are experienced enough to give guidance.
An example is the veteran trader Peter Brandt, who recently suggested that approximately 95% of people fail when trading. Instead, he advised them to excel in their regular jobs, prioritize their families, and invest in homeownership. Last but not least, Brandt recommended making monthly investments, allocating 80% of the amount to SPY (the ETF that tracks the S&P 500 Index) and 20% to BTC.
Trading is the wrong path for 95% of ppl
Most would be better off becoming excellent at a day job (engineer, plumber, welder, vet, sales)
Live economically
Get married, have kids
Buy a twin home – rent out one of them
Invest monthly – 80% in $SPY and 20% in Bitcoin— Peter Brandt (@PeterLBrandt) June 29, 2025
The Next Potential Targets
Let’s now take a closer look at BTC’s recent performance and explore its chances for a further pump in the short term. The asset has increased in value by approximately 6% over the past week, with numerous analysts predicting a surge to a new all-time high if certain conditions are met.
The X user Cipher X believes “a strong weekly close” above $107,720 could open the door to a further rally to as high as $130,000-$135,000 in Q3 2025.
“Just look at Q4 2024 chart and you’ll see what happened when BTC had its biggest weekly close,” they added.
Merlijn The Trader thinks the final pump for this bull run is coming, envisioning a fresh ATH of around $200,000 towards the end of the year. At the same time, he advised investors to take profits, anticipating a drastic pullback to $95,000 shortly after that.
On the contrary, Ali Martinez argued that the cryptocurrency currently faces a key rejection while the stochastic RSI flashes a death cross on the daily chart. The analyst thinks a plunge to $100,000 is not out of the question unless “we get a sustained close” above $109,000.
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Cryptocurrency
Everstake Brings Ethereum Experts Together to Explore Post-Pectra and Institutional Adoption

[PRESS RELEASE – Miami, FL, June 30th, 2025]
Everstake, a leading global non-custodial staking provider serving institutional and retail clients, hosted a special AMA session with Jason Chaskin, Ecosystem Intelligence Lead at the Ethereum Foundation, and Eric Siu, former contributor to ecosystem and special projects at both the Ethereum Foundation and Etherealize, to discuss post-Pectra world and explore whether the protocol is ready to support enterprise-grade participation at scale.
The part of the discussion was focused on the evolving role of institutional staking and how Ethereum’s infrastructure is adapting to enterprise needs. Since the Pectra upgrade, Ethereum’s validator entry queue has grown significantly, now topping 420,000 ETH with more than a week’s wait. Meanwhile, infrastructure moves from players like Stripe, which recently acquired the wallet provider Privy, suggest institutions are building infrastructure to support on-chain activity.
“While Pectra wasn’t designed exclusively for institutions, upgrades like EIP-7251 do simplify operations for those managing significant capital,” said Eric Siu. “The broader concerns, like MEV management or regulatory compliance, are solvable off-protocol. The infrastructure is here, and institutions are clearly interested. They just can’t afford mistakes.”
An official representative of the Ethereum Foundation Jason Chaskin added that Ethereum has organically evolved in a direction that aligns with enterprise standards, even if the terminology differs. – “What we call decentralization, they might call the absence of counterparty risk. What we describe as modularity or L2 scaling, they interpret as enterprise architecture. Ethereum doesn’t need to compromise its principles to meet institutional demand. It’s already aligned.”
Both speakers concluded that Ethereum is not only technically ready but economically and culturally aligned with institutional priorities so long as it continues to evolve without compromising decentralization.
The full discussion on institutional staking is available on Everstake’s blog.
About the Ethereum Foundation
The Ethereum Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development, improvement, and promotion of Ethereum and related technologies. Established in 2014 with the vision of fostering a decentralized and open-source ecosystem, the Ethereum Foundation plays an important role in supporting the growth of Ethereum and empowering the broader blockchain community.
About Everstake
Everstake is a leading global non-custodial staking provider serving institutional and retail clients and enabling secure access to over 85 Proof-of-Stake networks. Founded in 2018 by blockchain engineers, the company supports more than 735,000 delegators, $6.5 billion in staked assets, and 40,000+ active validators — delivering institutional-grade infrastructure with 99.9% uptime and zero material slashing events since inception.
Trusted by asset managers, custodians, wallets, exchanges, and protocols, Everstake offers API-first, compliant infrastructure backed by SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001:2022 certifications, GDPR compliance, and regular smart contract audits. Its globally distributed team of 100+ professionals is committed to making staking accessible to everyone while strengthening the foundations of decentralized finance.
Everstake is a software platform that provides infrastructure tools and resources for users but does not offer investment advice or investment opportunities, manage funds, facilitate collective investment schemes, provide financial services, or take custody of or otherwise hold or manage customer assets. Everstake does not conduct independent diligence or substantive review of any blockchain asset, digital currency, cryptocurrency, or associated funds. Everstake’s provision of technology services allowing users to stake digital assets is not an endorsement or a recommendation of any digital asset. Users are fully and solely responsible for evaluating whether to stake digital assets.
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Cryptocurrency
Retail Bets Big on BTC While ETH Floods Binance – What It Means for Crypto’s Next Move

There have been diverging signals across crypto markets and US politics. Ethereum (ETH) deposits to Binance have continued for five consecutive days.
In Bitcoin, the Short-Term Holder (STH) Net Position Realized Cap has surged from over negative $49 billion to more than $5 billion. Such a trend reflects aggressive accumulation by retail traders seeking exposure during the ongoing rally.
Will Crypto Rally or Reverse?
According to the latest report by CryptoQuant, in previous cycles, rising short-term holder activity has often occurred near market tops. Retail buyers tend to enter aggressively during these strong rallies, thereby creating concerns about markets becoming overheated.
On the political front, US President Donald Trump announced that Senate Republicans are finalizing what he described as “ONE, BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL.” It pledged sweeping tax cuts, including the elimination of taxes on tips, overtime, and seniors’ Social Security income, while promising increased military spending and domestic job creation.
Trump urged Congress to pass the bill before July 4, and framed it as a marker of American economic resilience. If enacted, these measures could inject additional disposable income into households, potentially lifting short-term consumer spending. However, Elon Musk expressed concern the following day, and even warned that unfunded tax cuts risk worsening the federal budget deficit.
CryptoQuant analyst noted that while short-term economic activity may rise, the long-term risks of increasing deficits could push the US toward unsustainable debt levels and higher interest obligations.
Investor sentiment remains influenced by broader geopolitical tensions across global markets. Traders are monitoring whether increased retail buying alongside macroeconomic developments could point to an approaching crypto market top or drive a rotation into defensive allocations, including stablecoins, government bonds, and perceived safe-haven assets.
Bitcoin’s Quiet Push Higher
Amid these signals of retail-driven momentum and macroeconomic uncertainty, Matrixport offers a different lens on Bitcoin’s quiet positioning near resistance levels. The leading crypto asset has been observed to be “quietly” testing resistance levels even as US equities reach new all-time highs and ETF inflows remain strong.
Despite these supportive conditions, Bitcoin’s upside volatility has stayed muted, a pattern often seen during the summer months when markets consolidate. However, expectations of a more dovish Federal Reserve are building, and traders are increasingly anticipating rate cuts as policymakers debate the longer-term effects of tariff-driven inflation.
As per the report, traders may begin to look beyond the stop-start nature of tariff negotiations and follow equities, where robust retail buying has fueled record highs. Matrixport reiterated its stance that spillover from Wall Street, particularly through Bitcoin ETFs, could become a critical factor for Bitcoin’s next upward move.
Meanwhile, the US dollar index (DXY) has dropped nearly 12% this year, which happens to be its worst showing in 40 years, amid Fed rate-cut expectations and rising debt concerns. Analysts suggest this weakening dollar could drive Bitcoin higher, echoing past cycles where the crypto asset surged during periods of significant dollar devaluation.
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