Ether Sentiment Is Way Down Near Levels Before Major Run

However, Quinlivan doesn‘t see the market as doubtful about Ethereum’s upside the way it was in early 2025. “I wouldnt say that is happening now. Ethereum is kind of back to being an expected number two market cap for a lot of people,” he said.

“It‘s appropriately ranked once again,” he said. Coinbase Asset Management president Anthony Bassili expressed a similar view to Cointelegraph in November 2025. “There’s a very, very clear view in the investor community in terms of the right first portfolio is Bitcoin. The next is Bitcoin, Ethereum,” he said.

Crypto market sentiment stays in “Fear” territory

Quinlivan said he is bullish on Ethereum‘s network growth, describing it as “absolutely going bonkers.” He said it’s likely due to growing interest in staking, which has been a hot topic on social media in recent times.

It comes as sentiment in the broader crypto market continues to hover at low levels, moving between “Fear” and “Extreme Fear” since early November. On Sunday, the Index posted a “Fear” score of 29.

Market participants are still in risk-off mode away from assets outside Bitcoin (BTC), according to the Altcoin Season Index, which currently shows a “Bitcoin Season” score of 34 out of 100.

The index flicks between “Bitcoin Season” and “Altcoin Season” scores based on the performance of the top 100 altcoins relative to Bitcoin over the past 90 days.