ETH just had lowest quarterly return since Q2 2022: Blockworks Research

The network is at a “pivotal juncture,” Blockworks Research’s Marc-Thomas Arjoon said

article-image

Akif CUBUK/Shutterstock and Adobe modified by Blockworks

share

This is a segment from the Empire newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.


For ether, things aren’t looking good. The chart below very clearly shows just how painful of a spot ETH is in right now.

Blockworks Research’s Marc-Thomas Arjoon noted that ETH had its lowest quarterly return since Q2 2022. Yikes. 

Like I said above, some of the pressure is macro, as folks drop their risk assets like hot potatoes to protect themselves. But let’s be clear: Ethereum also has no one to blame but itself. 

“Ethereum’s fundamentals also weakened, with Real Economic Value (REV) dropping 48% month-over-month to $37M, its lowest since July 2020. Despite these setbacks, Ethereum maintained its dominance in the stablecoin market, with a record $124B in market cap and continued growth in on-chain activity,” Arjoon wrote.

The network, Arjoon continued, sits at a “pivotal juncture.”

“As the effects of Pectra unfold and market conditions stabilize, Ethereum has the potential to reclaim momentum and strengthen its role as a cornerstone of the decentralized ecosystem,” he added. 

The one big bonus for Ethereum has been stablecoin and institutional interest. As those continue to dominate the narrative, they also help give the network a much-needed boost. But is that going to be enough?

I guess only time — and Pectra — will tell.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily, with Byron Gilliam.

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Research Report Templates (8).png

Research

Meta-aggregators like Titan and Kamino Swap improve price execution for users, making the Solana swapping landscape more competitive. Jupiter has incorporated meta-aggregation features into its latest routing engine to keep users on its front end (own the user, own the flow). At large, teams are treating swaps as a commoditized complement, offering incredibly cheap or free swaps to own the end-user and increase demand for high-margin product offerings (multi-product DeFi). On another note, the divergence in the concentration of aggregator volume between DEXs suggests increased specialization at the DEX layer by asset type.

article-image

Onboarding the world to Bitcoin takes a series of firsts

article-image

If we get an altcoin season, it’ll be focused on tokens deemed “ fundamentally valuable enough for traditional public money and capital” to get involved with

article-image

Solana dropped nearly 10% amid mass crypto liquidations triggered by rising geopolitical strife

article-image

Investors moved to safe assets like the US dollar and gold, but bonds faltered

article-image

The Amex offers up to 4% bitcoin back, but the deal is a bit ironic considering crypto’s goals

article-image

Short answer: Subnets are now cheaper to bootstrap than a Celestia rollup