Ethereum (ETH) closed the fourth quarter of 2025 with a market cap of $222.2 billion amid a sector-wide downturn. Despite a 28.3% price drop to $2,982, the network demonstrated resilience with 10.4 million holders and strong on-chain activity. Institutional strategies diverged, with spot ETF liquidity shifting while corporate treasuries increased ETH staking and accumulation, reducing floating supply.
Ethereum ended the quarter amid a broader market downturn, with macroeconomic risks and global trade tensions weighing on crypto. According to a Q4 2025 report, ETH fell 28.3%, opening at $4,150 in October and closing at $2,982 in December.
The ETH/BTC ratio remained stable at around 0.034–0.035, suggesting Ether is increasingly seen as a primary settlement layer. Despite the price drop, Ethereum maintained solid fundamentals, with a circulating market cap of $222.2 billion and 30-day trading volume of $886 billion.
Institutional strategies shifted notably during the quarter. Spot ETH ETFs faced declining liquidity as investors de-risked, with BlackRock’s market share falling from 72.1% to 51.8%.
Meanwhile, Grayscale Mini ETH attracted attention with 64% of assets staked. Corporate treasuries adopted a counter-cyclical approach, with ETH holdings rising from 3.6% to 4.99% of the circulating supply.
For example, SharpLink Gaming deployed $170 million via EtherFi and EigenCloud, while Bit Digital staked 89% of its holdings. These strategies reduce floating supply and reinforce Ethereum’s market resilience.
Ethereum’s network activity remained strong despite market pressure. Daily transactions peaked at 2.23 million, and over 15 million new addresses were created in Q4.
Staked ETH reached above 35 million, representing 29% of the total supply. The total value locked in DeFi remained near $100 billion, and the supply of stablecoins reached $177.6 billion.
