Ethereum has been one of the worst performing major assets of 2025 so far. But don’t let that fool you!
Every day, tens of billions of dollars in stablecoins circulate on Ethereum, making it THE settlement layer for global dollar liquidity. Large holders are also accumulating ETH, even with falling prices.
Doesn’t the market in general see the big picture?
Putting Ethereum’s bad year into context
Ethereum has had a rough start to the year through 2025. While silver, gold, and US stocks have been rising steadily, ETH has slipped about 12% year-to-date, making it one of the worst-performing major assets.
Bitcoin (BTC) fared slightly better, while the altcoin market fell further.
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Capital is moving towards metals and traditional risk assets, while the price of Ethereum (ETH) has gone nowhere. This looks like a market that has lost interest.
But value for money is not enough.
Where the money is actually settled
On an average day, Ethereum Mainnet processes approximately $90-100 billion in Stablecoin transfers, far more than any other network. According to Leon Waidmann, head of research at OnChainHQ, these are mainly USDT and USDC that move for payments, treasury operations and actual settlements.
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Other chains are growing, and some are cheaper or faster. But stablecoin volume is concentrated where trust, neutrality, and finality matter most.
Users happily pay higher fees because settlement failure is not an option at this scale.
While prices stagnate…
Large holders behave very differently.
ETH has repeatedly traded close to the realized price of accumulation addresses; essentially, the long-term average whale entry price. Instead of selling on weakness, these wallets continued to add more ETH.
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The timing is interesting.
Whale profits have been reduced to near zero, a point at which many would normally reduce their exposure. Instead, flows to accumulation addresses increase. That’s a lot of patience!
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Large holders do not sell as they would in a long bear market. Instead, the increase in purchases signifies confidence in Ethereum and that the token is undervalued.
Final Thoughts
- Ethereum may be down 12% year to date, but it’s still settling $90 billion to $100 billion in stablecoins per day.
- The increasing accumulation of whales near the base price means traders are confident.
