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Ethereum (ETH), the world’s second-largest blockchain by market capitalization, has seen its quarterly transaction fee revenue drop dramatically by approximately 95% from its all-time high in Q4 2021. This decline can be primarily attributed to a decrease in Layer 2 contributions, coupled with a significant dip in activity within the non-fungible token (NFT) market. What’s Driving the Drop in Ethereum’s Transaction Fee Revenue? Token Terminal highlighted this shift in the latest X (formerly Twitter) post. Based on their estimate, Ethereum’s transaction fee revenue for Q1 2025 is projected to reach approximately $217 million. This figure represents a dramatic 95% reduction from the all-time high of $4.3 billion recorded in Q4 2021. At that time, Ethereum’s revenue surged by 1,777% year-over-year, according to Bankless. It climbed from $231.4 million in Q4 2020 to $4.3 billion by the last quarter of 2021. Moreover, Ethereum’s DeFi ecosystem saw significant growth in Total Value Locked (TVL), decentralized exchange (DEX) volumes, NFT sales, and Layer 2 TVL. However, the dynamics have changed since then. This is evident from Ethereum’s recent performance. In 2025, monthly revenues sharply declined, with January recording $150.8 million and February only $47.5 million. Assuming the trend of declining transaction fees continues, March could also see similarly low figures. Furthermore, in the fourth quarter of 2024, Ethereum generated only $551.8 million in transaction fee revenue, emphasizing the continued downward trend. One of the major contributors to the decline is the shift to Layer 2 solutions. These have become increasingly popular for their ability to process transactions off-chain while settling on Ethereum’s mainnet. In addition, the activation of EIP-4844 has significantly reduced the data cost of posting to Ethereum’s chain, further lowering L2 fee contributions. According to a CoinShares report, this upgrade has made transactions cheaper but has also diminished the revenue Ethereum’s mainnet collects from L2 activity. “Layer 2-related fees, which were high in 2023 and early 2024, have since declined due to cost savings introduced by EIP-4844,” the CoinShares report read. The decline in NFT activity has also played a significant role. Q4 2021 marked the peak of the NFT craze, with platforms like OpenSea recording billions of dollars in monthly trading volume. Nonetheless, now the interest has waned, leading to a sharp drop in transaction volume and, consequently, fee revenue. ETH Suffers its Worst Quarterly Decline Since 2018 This decline extends beyond transaction fee revenue. The price of Ethereum has followed a similar downward trend. After reaching an ATH in November 2021, ETH has dropped substantially, now trading 58.8% below that peak. Even during the election euphoria, when many cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), saw new highs, Ethereum failed to keep pace. “ETH has experienced the sharpest decline in Q1, dropping by -40%, marking its biggest quarterly loss since 2018,” an analyst wrote on X. Over the past month alone, $ETH has fallen by 25.1%. As of press time, the altcoin was trading at $1,997, representing a slight gain of 0.45% over the past day.

Bitcoin ($BTC ) has long been the flagship cryptocurrency, often regarded as the “gold standard” of the digital asset space. However, in recent years, Bitcoin's market dominance — the proportion of its market capitalization relative to the overall cryptocurrency market — has dropped below 50%. This decline signals a significant shift in the dynamics of the crypto market, raising questions about the factors driving this change and its implications. Understanding Market Dominance Market dominance is a measure that indicates Bitcoin's share of the total cryptocurrency market capitalization. At its peak, Bitcoin accounted for over 80% of the total market. However, as of recent data, this dominance has fallen below the 50% threshold, meaning that altcoins (alternative cryptocurrencies) collectively hold more than half of the market share. Factors Behind the Decline 1. The Rise of Altcoins: Altcoins like Ethereum (ETH), Binance Coin (BNB), and Solana (SOL) have grown significantly, attracting investors due to their unique use cases beyond being a store of value. Ethereum, for instance, powers a wide range of decentralized applications (dApps) and smart contracts, making it a cornerstone of decentralized finance (DeFi) and NFTs (non-fungible tokens). 2. Increased Adoption of Layer-1 and Layer-2 Solutions: Newer blockchains like Solana, Avalanche, and Polygon are faster, more scalable, and less expensive compared to Bitcoin. These networks have attracted developers and users seeking better efficiency, contributing to the growth of their native tokens. 3. The Expansion of the DeFi Ecosystem: Decentralized finance (DeFi) has exploded over the past few years, creating an ecosystem worth billions of dollars. As investors seek to maximize their returns through staking, lending, and yield farming, many have shifted from Bitcoin to DeFi tokens, further reducing BTC's dominance. 4. NFT Mania: The surge in NFT popularity, primarily powered by Ethereum, has diverted market attention. Investors are exploring projects with high utility for digital art, gaming, and collectibles, which Bitcoin lacks. 5. Perception as "Digital Gold": Bitcoin’s narrative as a “store of value” has made it less attractive for speculative trading compared to altcoins with more aggressive growth potential. While BTC remains popular among institutional investors as a hedge, retail traders often seek higher-risk, higher-reward tokens. Implications of Declining Dominance Bitcoin’s reduced market dominance does not imply a loss of significance. Rather, it reflects the expansion and diversification of the cryptocurrency space. Bitcoin remains a crucial asset, often influencing the broader market's direction. However, a more balanced market could mean less volatility driven solely by Bitcoin's price swings. Conclusion Bitcoin's market dominance dropping below 50% marks a pivotal point in the evolution of the crypto market. While Bitcoin remains a cornerstone, the growing influence of altcoins showcases the expanding scope of blockchain technology. The future of the market will likely see a balance between Bitcoin as a digital asset and the rise of innovative altcoins driving new use cases.

The total crypto market cap (TOTAL) and Bitcoin (BTC) have grown over the past day, even as general market sentiment remains fearful. Ethereum-based SPX has led the altcoin market with double-digit gains over the past 24 hours. In the news today:- Ethereum’s quarterly transaction fee revenue has dropped about 95% from its peak in Q4 2021, mainly due to lower Layer 2 contributions and a decline in NFT market activity. Coinbase avoided a supply chain attack that could have compromised its open-source infrastructure. The incident was flagged on March 23 by Yu Jian, founder of SlowMist, citing a report from Palo Alto Networks’ Unit 42. Fearful Sentiment Fuels Buying Pressure The Crypto Fear & Greed Index shows that market sentiment has remained significantly fearful as traders continue to deal with losses. Today, the Index stands at 28, indicating fear in the market. This suggests that investors are cautious due to recent price declines. However, historically, fear can sometimes present buying opportunities, as it may indicate undervaluation. Traders appear to be taking advantage of this buying signal, as reflected by the spike in TOTAL over the past day. It has added $98 billion in the past 24 hours, standing at $2.8 trillion at press time. On the daily chart, the positive Balance of Power (BoP) confirms this surge in buying pressure among market participants. It is currently at 0.58. The BOP indicator measures the strength of buyers versus sellers by analyzing price movements within a given period. A positive BOP value like this indicates buyers are in control, pushing prices higher and signaling potential bullish momentum. If buyers consolidate their control and push the sellers out, TOTAL could maintain its upward trend and climb toward $2.87 trillion. However, if profit-taking spikes or sentiment grows more bearish, TOTAL could slip and fall to $2.70 trillion. BTC Holds Above Key Moving Average, Eyes $89,000 Target Leading coin Bitcoin trades at $87,182, noting a 3% price growth over the past 24 hours. BTC’s steady uptick over the past week has pushed its price above the 20-day exponential moving average (EMA), which now forms a dynamic support level at $85,047. The 20-day EMA measures an asset’s average price over the past 20 trading days. It gives more weight to recent prices, making it responsive to market changes. When an asset breaks above this moving average, it suggests growing bullish momentum and a potential shift toward an uptrend. BTC could extend its weekly gains and climb to $89,434 if this trend is maintained. However, if buying pressure weakens again, BTC could shed its recent gains and fall to test the support at $85,036. If the bulls fail to defend this level, the decline could reach $77,114. SPX Leads Market Gains with Strong Buying Interest SPX is the market’s top gainer during the review period. It currently trades at $0.62, up 20% over the past day. Its double-digit hike is accompanied by a surge in daily trading volume, highlighting the demand for the altcoin. The volume has climbed by 112% over the past 24 hours and is $34 million at press time. The surge in SPX’s price, accompanied by a rise in its daily trading volume, indicates strong buying interest and confirms the validity of the upward move. If the trend persists, the altcoin’s price could rally to $0.67. On the other hand, a reversal could trigger a decline toward $0.53. $BTC $XRP $BGB

Why Is Solana Price Up 7% Today? Amid the broader crypto market recovery, Solana price is showing major strength gaining 7% to $140 with daily trading volumes jumping 85% to $2.56 billion. The renewed investor interest in SOL comes amid strong network adoption and growing optimism. Interestingly, today’s bounce comes as Solana holders show signs of extreme fear. Solana Price Rallies Amid Market Fear Prominent crypto analyst Ali Martinez has observed signs of growing fear among long-term holders of Solana (SOL). The analyst pointed out that such periods of uncertainty unlock new opportunities for strategic investors. “Historically, these are the moments smart money steps in,” Martinez noted, referencing the adage, “Be greedy when others are fearful”. This shows that the current Solana price surge amid value-driven accumulation could thereby mark the beginning of a sustained uptrend from here onwards. Last week, CoinGape reported that the Solana network adoption has reached a fresh all-time high. On-chain data reveals that the Solana (SOL) network now boasts more than 11.09 million addresses holding the SOL token. This rise in address activity highlights increasing user participation within the Solana ecosystem. Market Analysts Turn Bullish on SOL SOL price today was up 6.97% at $139 with daily trading volumes surging 94.9% to more than $2.67 billion. As per the Coinglass data, the SOL futures open interest has surged 8.6% to $5 billion, with the 24-hour liquidations surging to $8.82 million. With today’s price action, Solana has managed to break past the crucial resistance of $137, which could set the stage for future upward trajectory. Highlighting this significant breakout for Solana, popular crypto analyst Crypto Curb stated that it marks an end to the persistent downtrend since the January 20th highs, often referred to as the “Trump highs”. The analyst suggests this breakout signals the start of a new upward momentum for SOL, forecasting a potential rally toward the $420 mark in the near future. Co-Founder Anatoly Yakovenko Bets for L1s Against L2s Anatoly Yakovenko, co-founder of Solana, has expressed skepticism about the necessity of Layer 2 (L2) scaling solutions, amid the Solana price rally. According to Yakovenko, Layer 1 (L1) blockchains can deliver superior performance, offering greater speed, lower costs, and enhanced security compared to L2 alternatives. In a message on the X platform, he wrote: “L1s can be faster, cheaper, and more secure. They aren’t slowed down by a glacially moving L1 data availability stack, or have to compromise security with complex fraud proofs and upgrade multisigs”. His comments came while responding to a message from an Ethereum contributor rip.eth who stated that there’s no reason to build L1, considering that L2s are more faster and affordable. $SOL

Canary Capital Files for SUI ETF With SEC Canary Capital, a digital asset management firm, filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 17, 2025, to launch an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracking the SUI token, the native cryptocurrency of the SUI blockchain. SEC to Review Canary Capital’s SUI ETF Proposal Filed March 17 The SUI blockchain, developed by Mysten Labs—founded by former Meta engineers—is a layer one (L1) platform designed for fast, secure digital asset transactions using the Move programming language. SUI tokens facilitate network governance, staking, and transaction fees, with prices fluctuating between $2.25 and $2.30 following the filing announcement. An ETF would allow investors to gain exposure to SUI’s price movements without directly holding the token. The filing includes an S-1 registration statement, a critical step in the SEC’s approval.