ETH Set to Dictate the Pace for the Entire Bull Run Ahead

Ethereum isn't just participating in this cycle—it's leading the charge. With momentum building and key upgrades in play, ETH looks ready to set the rhythm for the entire crypto market.

Why Ethereum Calls the Shots

Its ecosystem remains the backbone of DeFi, NFTs, and layer-2 scaling. While other chains compete, none match its network effect or developer activity. When ETH moves, altcoins follow—often with leveraged enthusiasm.

Timing the Next Breakout

Market cycles favor those with patience and conviction. Ethereum’s recent performance suggests institutional interest hasn't peaked—retail FOMO hasn’t even properly kicked in. And sure, traditional finance is still trying to tokenize their coffee machines.

Riding the Wave—Or Getting Left Behind

Ignore ETH’s momentum at your own risk. This isn’t just another rally—it’s a statement. Whether you're scaling in or scaling out, one thing’s clear: in this bull run, Ethereum isn’t just a player. It’s the playlist.

If the bitcoin top is not yet in, then bitcoin is on track to soon enter its longest bull market on record. It took another 40 days or so from here for bitcoin to reach its November 2021 peak.

Returns so far are about what you would expect, considering how large the market cap of bitcoin has grown. 

At this point in the past two cycles, bitcoin had posted up to 100x and around 21x, respectively. 

Two weeks ago, when bitcoin hit $124,100, that was the equivalent of about a 7x from the late 2022 bottom.

Here’s the same chart, but for ETH.

It’s similar. But technically, ETH has now entered its longest bull market on record — or in other words, this all-time high took longer than ever before

What’s glaring is that ETH’s cycle returns are tracking far below the previous bull market. 

Perhaps solana has something to do with that, considering bitcoin has no analogous direct rival.

But if it’s true that ETH is the thermometer for where crypto is headed for the next year, year and a half, then the pink line will need to catch up to the purple line, fast.

Updated 8/28/2025 at 10:07 a.m. ET: ETH’s cycle returns and length have been corrected.

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