Social Sentiment Reflects Previous Bull Run Models
Current Ethereum sentiment on social media has fallen to levels similar to those seen before the 2025 price rally, according to Santiment analysis. This rally ultimately pushed ETH back to its 2021 all-time highs, which is interesting to consider given where we are currently.
Santiment analyst Brian Quinlivan mentioned in a recent YouTube video that Ethereum sentiment is currently “down.” He suggested this could actually argue against further significant price cuts. “It’s a little reminiscent of what we saw before Ethereum made its big run last year,” Quinlivan said.
Looking at the data, Ether surged to $4,878 on August 23, 2025, marking a four-month gain of almost 70%. This followed a yearly low of $1,472 on April 9 of the same year. The timing is worth noting: the price took off just as people were starting to delist Ethereum, according to Quinlivan’s observations.
Current position and market sentiment
Ether has since fallen 36% from that all-time high, trading around $3,089 at press time. This decline follows a $19 billion crypto market liquidation event on October 10, which triggered broader market weakness.
But this is where things differ from early 2025. Quinlivan no longer sees the same level of doubt about Ethereum’s upside potential now. “I wouldn’t say that’s happening right now,” he said. “Ethereum has sort of become again the second market cap that a lot of people expected.”
He described Ethereum’s position as “once again correctly classified.” This view aligns with comments from Coinbase Asset Management President Anthony Bassili, who told Cointelegraph in November 2025 that investors generally view Bitcoin as the first portfolio choice, followed by Ethereum as the second choice.
Network growth and broader market context
Despite the price drop, Quinlivan remains optimistic about the growth of the Ethereum network, describing it as “absolutely crazy.” He attributes this to the growing interest in staking, which has recently become a hot topic on social media.
This comes as overall crypto market sentiment continues to hover at low levels. The market has been moving between “Fear” and “Extreme Fear” territory since early November, with the Fear & Greed Index posting a “Fear” score of 29 on Sunday.
Market participants appear to be in risk aversion mode, favoring Bitcoin over other assets. The Altcoin Season Index currently has a Bitcoin Season score of 34 out of 100. This index oscillates between Bitcoin Season and Altcoin Season based on the performance of the top 100 altcoins against Bitcoin over 90-day periods.
What interests me is how patterns of feeling sometimes repeat themselves. The current weak social sentiment around Ethereum reflects what happened before last year’s rally, but the context is different. Ethereum is now in a more established position as the number two cryptocurrency, which could change how these sentiment signals should be interpreted.
Network activity remains strong despite weak pricing, and staking continues to attract attention. But the broader market remains cautious, with fear dominating sentiment in the crypto space. This is a complex picture and while historical patterns can be informative, they are never perfect predictors of future movements.
I think the takeaway is that extreme feelings often precede meaningful movements, but the direction of those movements is not always obvious from feeling alone. The current environment combines low social sentiment with established positioning and strong network fundamentals, creating a potentially interesting setup for Ethereum.
