Ethereum holders are certainly being tested by tough times given the recent price movements failed attempt to create a bullish perspective for digital assets. One of the biggest disappointments was the performance of spot Ethereum ETFs, which were launched in the US with great fanfare. Many market participants considered these ETFs to be the key that could unlock a significant upside move for Ethereum. Since their launch, they have failed to deliver the expected results, frustrating investors.

Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, a popular cryptocurrency index fund manager, continues maintain a positive attitude ETH Outlook. According to him, Ethereum continues to be at the forefront of blockchain applications that are achieving breakthrough successes.

This is not the end of Ethereum

This lack of positive momentum in the Ethereum market was enough to shake the confidence of experienced investors. The combination of uncertain macroeconomic factors, growing competition from Solana and other blockchains, and unfulfilled expectations regarding Ethereum ETFs contributed to the despondent outlook for the digital asset.

Among the optimists is Matt Hougan, who shared his views in a recent note. Hougan maintains a bullish stance on Ethereum, firmly believing that the current challenges are only short-lived and that the asset still has the potential to rebound. Hougan says that while Ethereum lags Bitcoin and Solana in year-to-date growth by 38% and 31%, respectively, the cryptocurrency’s long-term prospects remain mighty.

In his note, Hougan highlighted ETH’s continued dominance as leading blockchain for decentralized applications (dApps), stating that it retains the lion’s share of activity among developers building on blockchain technology. He even went so far as to compare Ethereum to the “Microsoft of blockchains.”

To support his claim, Hougan pointed to notable examples of Ethereum adoption by enormous companies. One such example is BlackRock’s tokenized money market fund, which launched in March 2024 and currently has over $500 million in assets under management. Another example is Nike’s Web3 hardware platform called .Swoosh.

Ethereum has the most lively developers and users. As such, Hougan believes blockchain will be the first on the radar of the next large established company looking to create a blockchain product.

What’s next for ETH?

According to Hougan, Ethereum is a contrarian bet for the rest of the year. This basically means that he expects Ethereum to go against the current market sentiment and surprise many investors with a bullish run for the rest of the year.

At the time of writing, ETH is trading at $2,440, up 5.2% over the past 24 hours. This last raise brings Ethereum closer to retesting the key resistance level at $2,450.

Featured image created with Dall.E, chart from Tradingview.com