In the vast starry sky of digital currency, Bitcoin is undoubtedly the brightest morning star, but it is often the latecomers dedicated to technological innovation that grant infinite possibilities to this sky. Ethereum (ETH), as the second largest crypto asset globally, has long surpassed the single category of "digital currency" and evolved into the "fuel" and cornerstone of a vast decentralized application ecosystem.

From "Global Computer" to Deflationary Asset

To understand the value of Ethereum, one must first distinguish between the Ethereum network and Ethereum coin. Ethereum is an open-source blockchain platform that supports developers in building smart contracts and decentralized applications; whereas Ethereum coin is the native cryptocurrency of this network, and users need to use ETH to pay network transaction fees (Gas fees).

In recent years, Ethereum has undergone a historic technical upgrade - known as "the merge." This upgrade shifted Ethereum from an energy-consuming proof-of-work mechanism to a more environmentally friendly proof-of-stake mechanism, reducing energy consumption by about 99%. More importantly, with the implementation of the EIP-1559 proposal, the network began to burn a portion of ETH based on transaction demand. This burning mechanism has, during many time periods, exceeded the issuance of new coins, endowing Ethereum coin with deflationary properties under specific market conditions, which is one of its main advantages in value storage narrative compared to other altcoins.

On-chain Activity and Price Divergence

Investors focusing on Ethereum coin price may recently have noticed an interesting phenomenon: although the secondary market has shown volatility, the on-chain fundamentals remain exceptionally solid. According to the latest data from April 2026, despite pressures from the macro situation, Ethereum's price was once under pressure, but its network activity maintained at a very high level.

Data shows that the daily active address count for Ethereum is close to 788,000, indicating that users' actual on-chain interactions have not stagnated due to the price drop. In the decentralized finance sector, Ethereum's market dominance is being re-established. Benefiting from the explosion of Layer 2 scaling solutions, Ethereum's share in the DEX (decentralized exchange) market has risen from 33% at the beginning of the year to 42%. This resilience in the fundamentals is often viewed as a key signal of value support by long-term investors.

Capital Flow and Ecosystem Game

At the capital level, market behavior also reveals a deep-seated transformation. Currently, the proportion of Ethereum held by centralized exchanges has dropped to about 11%, far lower than the 32% in 2020. This trend indicates that more and more holders are choosing to transfer assets to personal wallets for "self-custody" or staking, significantly reducing the risk of large-scale market sell-offs.

Within the ecosystem, discussions about latest news on Ethereum coin often revolve around its competition with high-performance public chains like Solana. Although Solana has its advantages in transaction throughput, Ethereum, with its robust security and strong developer community, still maintains a lead in terms of total locked value and asset diversity. With the completion of upgrades like Dencun, Ethereum network's transaction fees have significantly decreased, further solidifying its moat in the RWA (real-world assets) and DeFi sectors.

In conclusion, Ethereum is not just an asset but a global decentralized infrastructure. Whether as a value store in ETH or as the execution environment of the Ethereum network, it is continuously shaping the future direction of Web3.

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