Here’s how Ethereum is losing the price war, but winning the real battle

Ethereum [ETH] may look underwhelming at first glance, but there’s more to it than what meets the eye.

While markets fixate on flimsy short-term price performance, Ethereum is dominating on-chain activity and attracting the big players. The disconnect is growing, and it’s worth paying attention to why.

Ethereum, the DeFi king

Ethereum’s mainnet alone still controls around 68% of total DeFi TVL, and that’s far ahead of every other chain. Even during the fall of 2022, its share never fully broke. The network dipped to near 45% before recovering through 2024 and into 2025.

Source: DeFiLlama

What’s more telling is the big picture.

While the aforementioned data from DeFiLlama includes Ethereum’s L2s like Arbitrum [ARB], Optimism [OP], and Base, its share climbs well past 70% when it excludes this competition.

There’s more!

Source: X

Tom Lee’s Bitmine staked 74,880 ETH worth $219 million. So, there is tons of confidence in Ethereum’s long-term growth.

Meanwhile, SharpLink Gaming redeemed 35,627 ETH – A sign that institutional moves are becoming more active and tactical.

Source: X

This fits the greater trend. Ethereum’s share of DeFi hasn’t weakened despite capital rotating. Instead, the big players are learning to work within the system.

What’s driving the price narrative?

While its fundamentals anchor Ethereum, price action is being influenced elsewhere… in derivatives.

Source: Cryptoquant

In 2025, ETH Futures activity went up to record levels. Binance alone saw over $6.7 trillion in ETH Futures volume, nearly double last year.

Other exchanges like OKX, Bybit, and Bitget followed the same pattern, confirming that speculation has been creating pace.

Source: Cryptoquant

The imbalance is pretty striking. According to analyst Darkfost on X, for every $1 in spot ETH, nearly $5 flows into Futures.

This level of leverage explains why price moves feel chaotic and unstable, even as Ethereum’s fundamentals remain unshaken.

Final Thoughts

• Ethereum controls 68% of DeFi TVL and 70% with L2s.
• ETH’s price is being driven by record leverage, explaining volatility and market disconnect.