Ethereum’s declining social media sentiment is mirroring levels similar to those seen before its 2025 price rally, which eventually pushed the asset back to its 2021 all-time highs, according to a crypto sentiment analyst.
“Ethereum is actually way down, this would argue against us falling too much further,” Santiment analyst Brian Quinlivan said in a video published to YouTube on Saturday.
“This is kind of reminiscent of what we saw before Ethereum went on its major run last year,” Quinlivan said.
On Aug. 23, Ether (ETH) surged to a new all-time high of around $4,900, surpassing its previous 2021 peak after rebounding sharply from a yearly low near $1,470 in April, according to CoinGecko data. The rally marked a strong multi-month recovery following a period of widespread pessimism toward Ethereum.
Quinlivan said that Ether’s price “took off just as people were really starting to write-off Ethereum.”
Ethereum has cemented position as “number two market cap”
Ether has since dropped 36% from its all-time high, trading at $3,089 at the time of publication, following a $19 billion crypto market liquidation event on Oct. 10, which led to a broader market downtrend.
However, Quinlivan doesn’t see the market as doubtful about Ethereum’s upside the way it was in early 2025. “I wouldn’t say that is happening now. Ethereum is kind of back to being an expected number two market cap for a lot of people,” he said.
“It’s appropriately ranked once again,” he said. Coinbase Asset Management president Anthony Bassili expressed a similar view to Cointelegraph in November 2025. “There’s a very, very clear view in the investor community in terms of the right first portfolio is Bitcoin. The next is Bitcoin, Ethereum,” he said.
Crypto market sentiment stays in “Fear” territory
Quinlivan said he is bullish on Ethereum’s network growth, describing it as “absolutely going bonkers.” He said it’s likely due to growing interest in staking, which has been a hot topic on social media in recent times.
It comes as sentiment in the broader crypto market continues to hover at low levels, moving between “Fear” and “Extreme Fear” since early November. On Sunday, the Index posted a “Fear” score of 29.
Market participants are still in risk-off mode away from assets outside Bitcoin (BTC), according to the Altcoin Season Index, which currently shows a “Bitcoin Season” score of 34 out of 100.
The index flicks between “Bitcoin Season” and “Altcoin Season” scores based on the performance of the top 100 altcoins relative to Bitcoin over the past 90 days.
