• Bitwise exec claimed that ETH was the best contrarian bet. 
• Cowen projected a strong ETH/BTC rebound in 2025. 

Ethereum [ETH] has been underperforming Bitcoin [BTC] and Solana [SOL] for several months due to what analysts have termed ‘middle child syndrome.’ 

However, Matt Hougan, Bitwise CEO, reiterated that ETH was still the best bet in the market given its lead position as home to top killer apps in crypto.

“Ethereum is the best contrarian bet in crypto right now.” 

Hougan added that ETH’s strong rebound could happen in 2025. 

“Ethereum has been passed over this year because it’s undergoing complex adjustments in its architecture. It was missed by the excitement for Bitcoin and Solana. It’s a set up for a pretty contrarian play in 2025.” 

ETH challenges

Ethereum has faced mixed reactions to its March 2024 Dencun upgrade, which improved scaling and reduced L2s’ transaction costs. 

However, the upgrade saw network activity move from the base layer to L2s, making ETH inflationary.

Analyzing this activity, pundits deemed BTC as a better SoV (store of value). 

The negative sentiment dragged the ETH/BTC ratio down to yearly lows. This tracked ETH’s value relative to BTC. 

Like Hougan, analyst Benjamin Cowen projected that ETH/BTC could bottom in Q4 2024 and rebound strongly in 2025 based on historical trends. He stated,

“ETH/USD will likely be weak until EOY just like 2016 and 2019 (also years where ETH/BTC broke down), but I think it will find some renewed strength in 2025.” 

Despite the FUD, ETH prices have been resilient amidst a market recovery in Q4. Since early October, the altcoin has bounced nearly 13%, from $2.3k to $2.6k.

It was valued at $2.63k at press time, about 53% away from its 2024 highs of 4k.