Market Update: Bitcoin Holds $111K While Ethereum Faces Revenue Slump Despite Record Highs
Bitcoin and Ethereum, the world’s two largest cryptocurrencies, are showing contrasting signals as investors navigate shifting market dynamics.
Bitcoin briefly reclaimed the $111,000 level over the weekend, signaling resilience after a volatile week influenced by U.S. macroeconomic data.
Analysts highlighted $110,000 as a key support zone, with many pointing to $112,000–$113,000 as the resistance barrier that could determine the next major move.
Some traders warned that a failure to reclaim resistance could open the door for a deeper correction, potentially retesting $100,000. However, Fibonacci retracement patterns suggest that such a pullback would align with historical corrections since late 2024, making a 10% decline the “worst-case scenario” before a possible rally toward $150,000.
“Bitcoin usually bottoms around the 0.382 Fibonacci level,” trader ZYN noted, adding that this trend could repeat, implying a rebound zone near $100,000.
While Bitcoin traders weigh downside risks, Ethereum is facing its own challenges. This time tied to network fundamentals rather than price.
Despite ETH surging to an all-time high of $4,957 in late August, Ethereum’s revenue dropped sharply. Data from Token Terminal shows that protocol revenue, largely derived from transaction fee burns, fell 44% month-over-month to $14.1 million. Network fees also declined by around 20%, totaling $39.7 million in August compared with $49.6 million in July.
The decline comes months after Ethereum’s Dencun upgrade, which slashed transaction costs for layer-2 networks. While cheaper fees improve user experience and scalability, they also reduce direct revenues for the base layer.
This dynamic has sparked debate across the industry. Critics argue that declining fee income raises questions about Ethereum’s long-term sustainability, while supporters maintain that Ethereum’s role as the backbone for decentralized finance and corporate adoption outweighs short-term revenue concerns.
Institutional interest in Ethereum continues to grow regardless of the revenue drop. Etherealize, a firm dedicated to promoting Ethereum adoption among publicly traded companies, recently secured $40 million in funding.
Meanwhile, Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan noted that Ether’s staking yield remains a strong draw for traditional investors, likening it to earnings streams from conventional companies.
With Bitcoin traders watching for a potential $100,000 retest and Ethereum navigating structural questions about its fee model, both assets remain at the center of crypto’s evolving narrative.
The coming weeks will determine whether Bitcoin’s support levels hold and whether Ethereum’s fundamentals can keep pace with its rising institutional profile.
