The latter half of 2025 has begun, and looking back at the cryptocurrency market in the first half of the year, it can only be described as "brutal." The once leading industry player, Ethereum, plummeted from $4100 to a low of $1400, with a market capitalization evaporating by over a trillion. During the same period, numerous small digital assets faced catastrophic declines, with losses generally reaching several times or even dozens of times, continuously setting new historical lows, and the market is shrouded in extreme panic.

Despite Ethereum's strong rebound to $2700 in May, market sentiment remains filled with skepticism and pessimism. Most investors believe this is just the "last bull trap" and expect a more severe fall to be imminent.

What is even more frustrating is that small cryptocurrencies seem to be collectively abandoned by investors. The market has almost reached a consensus: apart from Bitcoin, they lack substantial value, and other projects are like lambs to the slaughter, with participation guaranteed to incur losses.

However, at the darkest moment of the market, Ethereum began to show significant "anti-fall characteristics." In the past two days during the market adjustment, Ethereum's decline was noticeably lower than that of other major cryptocurrencies, which may release an important signal — the main capital may have completed its previous selling tasks and is now entering a defensive phase.

Three major driving factors for Ethereum's strong performance, which may indicate a market shift:

1. Improved policy environment: US regulators have relaxed the staking restrictions on POS, and the previously stalled ETH staking ETF is now expected to advance. The loosening of regulations means that in the future, there may be no need to specifically apply to the SEC for staking products, which will fully unleash the financial attributes of Ethereum.

2. ETF Product Innovation: Products like "SharpLink" similar to the MicroStrategy model are emerging, and the successful capital operation model of Bitcoin is gradually migrating to the Ethereum ecosystem.