Like Solana at $8, Is It Time to Aggressively Buy Ethereum Now?

Ethereum could be hated now, but the Pectra upgrade, staking ETFs, and tokenization could drive ETHUSD past $4,000 in 2025. The Ethereum price is now trading above $1,600 and firm. Is ETH one of the best cryptos to buy now?

In crypto, sentiment flips fast—and riding the right wave can yield massive rewards. After the stunning rise of Solana through 2023, even the sharpest investors recognize that the juiciest gains often come when an asset is written off. Right now, Ethereum fits that profile perfectly. Some even call it one of the most hated altcoins, thanks to its lackluster performance over the past four years. ETH continues to trail some of the best Solana meme coins to buy in 2025.

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Much like Solana when it tanked to $8 amid the FTX collapse—fueling rumors and skepticism—Ethereum faces a similar storm of doubt, frustration, and scorn. Competitors like Solana, which hit fresh all-time highs in January 2025, have only amplified the criticism.

Yet, despite the gloom, powerful catalysts loom that could rewrite Ethereum’s story and push ETH above $4,000—potentially to new peaks—in the coming months. An analyst on X recently noted that Ethereum might be teetering on the edge of a breakout that will lift sentiment and spark capital inflows, cementing its position as one of the best cryptos to buy.

$ETH has some upcoming bullish events:

May 7: Pectra Upgrade
May: ETH Staking ETFs
Tokenization boom

Each event could potentially push ETH up by $1,000.

Ethereum is the most hated tokens right now, just like $SOL was when it crashed to $8.

— Ted (@TedPillows) April 9, 2025

3 Reasons Why Ethereum Is Undervalued

In his view, the next big leap for Ethereum is the Pectra upgrade set for May 7.

This hard fork isn’t just an update—it’s a game-changer for usability, scalability, and developer appeal.

With optimizations to the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM) and smoother account abstraction, Pectra will make the network more efficient and user-friendly.

The upcoming Ethereum upgrade “Pectra” is scheduled for May 7, 2025.

• Pay gas with stablecoins (no need
to hold ETH)
• Apps can cover gas fees for you
• Faster & cheaper txs (more blob
space)
• Easier staking & unstaking
• Smarter wallets, smoother UX… pic.twitter.com/6JoreVFsJl

— CUZZIN (@AltcoinsCuzzin) April 6, 2025

For ETH supporters, this signals relentless progress—and historically, upgrades like these have fueled price rallies.

Also, in May, the U.S. SEC could approve Ethereum staking ETFs. Unlike current spot ETH ETFs from issuers like BlackRock, which can’t stake coins (a freedom Hong Kong counterparts enjoy), staking ETFs would unlock institutional floodgates.

Ethereum staking needs to be integrated into ETFs for the market to turn bullish again.

Right now, $ETH is struggling. pic.twitter.com/rN4AUI7UJ0

— Ted (@TedPillows) March 21, 2025

Traditional investors tapping the high Ethereum staking yields without wrestling wallets or validators could draw more capital to ETH, more like the spot Bitcoin ETF boom in January 2024.

Additionally, there is another factor to consider: The real-world asset (RWA) tokenization boom.

Ethereum already dominates with billions in USD-pegged stablecoins and millions in tokenized treasuries, often via scaling solutions like Polygon.

Most of the BlackRock BUIDL assets are tokenized on Ethereum and currently stand at over $2 billion.

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BREAKING: The @Securitize-powered BlackRock BUIDL fund surpasses $2 billion in AUM.

The BUIDL fund’s AUM is up ~209.1% YTD.

The BUIDL fund is tokenized on the following networks (ordered by AUM): Ethereum, Aptos, Avalanche, Polygon, Arbitrum One, OP Mainnet, and Solana. pic.twitter.com/WAD7gGS3Gt

— Token Terminal (@tokenterminal) April 9, 2025

As giants like Larry Fink of BlackRock predict, if Ethereum becomes the go-to platform for tokenizing bonds, real estate, and more, gas fees will climb, and ETH burning will shrink supply.

Echoing the 2021 DeFi boom, this could drive ETH/USD sharply higher.

Time to Buy ETH/USD Now?

Despite these tailwinds, sentiment remains lukewarm at best.

Gas fees, though lower, still sting compared to rivals like Solana, Algorand, or Aptos.

Critics also argue innovation has shifted to layer-2s or other chains, pointing to meme coin mania draining liquidity toward Solana instead of Ethereum’s ecosystem.

But history offers hope.

When SOL crashed to $8 post-FTX bankruptcy and was dismissed as dead, it staged a stunning comeback.

Ethereum is not in that dire a spot. Its developer base thrives, and its DeFi total value locked (TVL) remains unmatched, looking at DeFiLlama data.

At this crossroads, the ETHUSD fundamentals are firm, and the coin could outperform in the coming months.

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